Dealing with Srongholds

In the Book of St. Matthew, chapter 17, verses 14-21, Jesus deals with the subject of strongholds which we sometimes have to face. The disciples were confronted with a situation over which they had no control and, facing failure in their efforts to accomplish success, they had to ask Jesus why they were not successful. We, too, will be confronted with success issues while on this Christian journey, but just because difficulties will come, it is not a time for us to give up trying. Continuing to try is just what we must do.

 In the New King James Version of the scripture above, we read the following, “And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” In this text, Jesus is letting us know that we need more than showing up power. We need a strong faith to deal with some of the strongholds we will be confronted with in this journey.

 Many people are asked to do some things simply because they go to a certain church, or are seen in the company of certain people. And indeed we do have certain ones who try to gain notoriety by associating themselves in the company of influential people. But association will not bring spiritual strength. Spiritual strength can only be gained through personal spiritual exercises, and that calls for a life of prayer and fasting and staying in close conversational (prayer) association with the Lord.

 Let each of us set aside a regular time where we can dedicate ourselves to prayer and fasting and a conversation with the Lord. My dedicated time is Sunday. I set aside time each Sunday for fasting and prayer and being in conversation with the Lord. It is not always necessary to fast the whole 24 hours each Sunday; but rather it is the ‘quality’ of time and not the quantity of time we spend with the Lord. Please be encouraged to set aside a regular time in which you too can be in conversation with the Lord. It is healthy for the soul.

 Sometimes many strongholds will come in our lives, but with sufficient faith in the Lord, none of them will be impossible to overcome. All things are possible if we only believe, for “there is nothing too hard for God.” He made the world out of nothing. Certainly He is in control of everything in the universe. The way we deal with strongholds is to know that the Lord is in complete control of all things, and for us to have the faith to know, without doubt, that there absolutely is no failure in Him.

 Again, let each of us set aside a time of fasting and prayer in order that our time with the Lord will increase our level of faith. In addition, let us not get to the point where think we don’t need to seek the Lord for more and more faith and spiritual strength each day.

 We often ask the Lord to take us to another level. Well, let us not forget that at the new level there will be new challenges we must face. Let me encourage each one of us to join in with the Annual February Fast during the month of February 2010. Please join in with us by going to the web site www.prayerandfaithcenter.com and signing up with your commitment to participate. You can also sign up by writing to participate@februaryfast.com. Ask your friends and associates to also join in with us and present the idea to the pastor of your church for total congregation participation.

 Let us build a defense against the strongholds which we will face in this spiritual walk with the Lord. Remember, these kind come but by prayer and fasting. Let us join in with the war against the spiritual strongholds which come against the brotherhood.

Celebrate Jesus

As we enter this time of year, we turn our attention to the celebration of Christmas. All over the world, Christians will be celebrating Christmas. As we make our plans for the holiday festivities, let us not forget the reason we, as Christians, celebrate Christmas. On the day following Thanksgiving, the merchants celebrated Black Friday, one of the biggest sales days of the year, if not the biggest. Then, on the following Monday there was another merchant day of celebrating sales which they call cyber Monday.

There is nothing wrong with finding bargains during the time of merchant sales. In fact, that is one of the times when we are able to save on what is already overpriced merchandise. But in all of our rushing to be able to get ready for Christmas Day, let us not forget the reason we actually celebrate Christmas. After all, each of us would be quite upset if those we love celebrated our birthday without us. In view of the fact that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, let us not forget to keep Christ in our Christmas celebrations. Let us not be so anxious to give and receive gifts that we forget about the fact that we are celebrating the greatest gift of all.

The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV). And the Message Bible says, “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” With this kind of love given toward us when we were yet in sin, we should forever be thankful and be willing to celebrate Jesus, not only at Christmas time, but at all times.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (Luke 2:8-20).

 If the shepherds were able to celebrate Jesus’ birth, not knowing the total magnitude of His love, how much more should we be willing to celebrate His birth? After all, it is HIS birthday which we are celebrating. Furthermore, we should celebrate the knowledge that He was born so that we can be born again. For without the love of God for a dying world, we wouldn’t have Jesus who loved us so, that he endured a shameful death on the cross, so that we could have a right to everlasting life.

 As we celebrate the festivities of this Christmas season, let us not forget that it is all because of Jesus, that we do celebrate this time of Joy. Let us be thankful for all of our loved ones, and the fact that we are enabled to live saved lives, all because of Jesus. Let us celebrate Jesus’ birth with an everlasting memory of what He did for us. What gift will you give to Jesus this holiday season? LET US CELEBRATE JESUS!!!

Giving Thanks

Have you ever just sat and thought about how blessed you are to be in the condition and location where you are at the present time? If you have the love of the Savior residing within, then you are more than doubly blessed. To think about where you were before you got to know the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, when you had absolutely no power to compel you to do what is right. When you lived in your own little famine land with nothing righteous to feed on or to guide you in the right path. Nowhere to go but down, down, down. Then there came a glimmer of hope, offering a way to satisfy the natural man. And although each of us is affected by the economic downturn which is present across the globe, yet we are truly blessed, because we don’t count our blessings according to how financially stable we are. Our blessings come from truly knowing God as our Jehovah-Jireh. Once we have the Lord, we have everything we need, because He provides for His own. So let us spend our time thanking Him, rather than in worrying about present circumstances.

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to be the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek, and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America. President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941.

Although we connect the word “thanksgiving” with a feast of one sort or another, there are many occasions where we have opportunity to give thanks to the Lord when food is not involved. We must recognize that the Lord provides us with much more than food, even if food is a sustainer of the physical. We need to know and celebrate the fact that our Lord is a Provider and Savior for the soul and that is definitely worth giving of thanks!

The Children of Israel gave thanks to the Lord for bringing them out of the bondage of the Egyptians. Even though they originally went to Egypt as an act of salvation from the famine, it ended with the act of salvation from the bonds of slavery and other acts of persecution.

Note that in each time of persecution, the Lord had provided a way out. Whether it was the escape of religious persecution, as were the pilgrims who left England, or the Children of Israel, who were under the bondage of hard taskmasters in Egypt, the Lord always provided a way out. And in this time of economic recession, the Lord has already provided the way out for His own. We sometimes miss the open door the Lord has provided to us because we may be too busy regretting what we may have seemingly lost. But if we would just take the time to listen to His voice and be guided by His most capable hand, we will see that He has already provided a way of escape for us.

The Bible tells us, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thes. 5:18). We tend to worry about and do all we can to provide for our physical well-being, but as we shall learn from the scripture, we ought not to be so concerned. For the scripture also says, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matt. 6:31-34).

Finally, let each of be reminded that we, too, were in a state of darkness, lost on a sea of murky waters, having nothing to assure us that we would make it to any safe area. But God, in all of his faithfulness, provided a way to safety through salvation by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, and the Son endured the shame of the cross to save a lost and dying world. That is reason to continually give thanks.

So let us trust God to do what he said he would do and spend our time praising him, because the more we praise him, the more he will bless us. Just remember, “when praises go up, blessings come down.” So let us plant the seeds of harvest that we may receive blessings. Let us continually give thanks unto the Lord, for all of his many benefits. Let us GIVE THANKS!!!

The Lord Wants YOU

Have you ever just sat and wondered why it seems like it is so hard for some of our loved ones to come to the Lord in understanding what this salvation walk is all about? It even seems like the only times some of them will go to a church service is around special holiday times, like Easter and Christmas, and maybe at a Watch Night service. Then there are those who will sit at home and watch the Sunday morning services which come on television and consider that this is good enough to satisfy the Lord. And it seems like we pray and pray that they will come into the full understanding of what it is that the Lord really wants.

Then there are some who will be in church service every Sunday morning, to be sure they are seen by everyone in their rejoicing on the floor while they get their shout in. Some even dare to be seen trying to lead others who happen to be in the same service to the Lord and would even call this working for the Lord. They fail to recognize that the job of us, as saints, is to go out into the “streets” and invite the unsaved to attend service so the Word of the Lord, spoken by the servant of the Lord, will convict and convince them that holiness is the way to go. We must know that when in a church service, it is the responsibility, and privilege, of the shepherd to feed the sheep.

They have an understanding of what they think the Lord is looking for, but this is only a zeal of the righteousness of the Lord. It is not of works, for the Bible says, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (Galatians 2:16). Paul had a pressing time in trying to get the Roman Jews to understand that the Lord is not looking for things, but rather what the Lord wants is US. That’s why he was so pressed in Romans 12:1-2 when he said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Starting in chapter nine, we see that Paul is diligently seeking to get the people to understand that the former way of doing things has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus, but it seems that their understanding of the scriptures had been seared by unbelief. Even though they are God’s chosen people, it seems as though there is no unified belief that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the way to their salvation. Not only the Jews, but there those who we are quite familiar who also have problems in recognizing that Jesus is there for them and that He died for them. He showed them personal examples of sovereign selection all to their seemingly rejection. These selections can be identified as: 1) The example of Ishmael and Isaac, 2) The example of Esau and Jacob, 3) The example of Pharaoh, 4) The example of Hosea, and 5) The example of Isaiah.

With this rejection of the Jewish nation, the Lord opened the way of salvation unto the Gentiles. Yet, it is very difficult for many Gentiles too, to come to partake of the saving grace of the Lord. Some of them are our own loved ones. Many of them will even give tithe and other financial support to the church, but fail to give of themselves unto the Lord. It is yet our job to help them to understand that tithe is alright, but that this is not the way to salvation.

We need to teach the Word of the Lord in such a fashion that they will understand that what the Lord wants is them. Going to church is good, and it is right to do so. But, it is more important to know that what the Lord wants is US. That is why Paul wrote to the Romans, “present your bodies unto God, a living sacrifice.” The Lord values US more than all of the riches we could pour toward the church. I am certainly NOT saying that it is wrong to watch religious programs on the television, but I am saying that the television programs and other religious media don’t remove our obligation to visit the local Bible teaching assembly of our choice.

God owns the riches of the world, but riches don’t satisfy the Lord. Love, faith, and obedience do! Remember, the scripture says for us to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Once we have the Lord, we have everything we need. So all we have to do is give the Lord ourselves. The Lord wants US!

Finding the Light

Each of us who now love the Lord and also now embrace His love and teachings, was once living in a world of darkness. And if the truth were to be told, we enjoyed the life in which we were living because it gave us a false sense of security, satisfying the lusts of the flesh we were so desperately seeking and enjoying. All of this happened while we were living that life of darkness through unbelief and ignorance. And, even while we were frolicking around like we were well in control of our lives and the things thereof, the Lord never gave up loving us. Because of His love for us, it is He who sought to bring us into the ‘light’ of life, even though we thought we had it all in control and could do what we wanted and change anytime we wanted.

In actuality, we don’t find the light. The Light actually finds us. You see, Jesus is the Light. We see Him as He so strategically places Himself in our paths. When the ‘woman at the well’ experienced the knowledge and love of Jesus, it was because of the fact that Jesus had placed Himself into a position to be seen of her. It was Jesus who recognized the conditions of mankind, as the Bible says, “he must needs go through Samaria” (John chapter 4). The woman at the well didn’t go looking for Jesus, but rather, it was Jesus who recognized the needs in Samaria, and strategically placed Himself in the path of the woman who was merely going to the well to get water to quench a natural thirst. But what she found was the “Water of Life’ which quenches our real need.

When Andrew went to find Peter and told him, “we have found the Messias,” (John 1:41) he didn’t find Jesus, but rather Jesus strategically placed Himself in his path as He went to be baptized by John. Then there was Phillip, who found Nathanael and said unto him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45). In this sighting of Jesus, these men were moved to go and find someone else to bring them into the saving knowledge of Jesus. And it is likewise our job to bring others into the knowledge of the saving grace of the Jesus we know. As these two incidences reveal to us, we don’t go looking for the light, but rather, the Light comes to us.

I had the privilege and opportunity to witness the rising of the sun as I traveled by airplane from New York to Paris. When the plane left New York LaGuardia Airport around 8 o’clock pm, it was dark as we were traveling east toward France into Paris and we crossed over into daylight just before landing. We went from darkness into the light of day while flying over the Atlantic Ocean. But the fact of the matter is that the sun never went down, even though it was dark in New York as we left the United States. Likewise, Jesus is never out of our presence, even though there are some who don’t see Him and who don’t get the benefit of His grace. Yet, that doesn’t lessen the fact that He is still “The Light of the World.” We just can’t see Him without experiencing His sighting through spiritual eyes.

We who are saved didn’t go looking for the Light of Jesus, but rather it is Jesus who came looking for us. We were ignorant of the reality of Jesus and His saving grace. We had to be introduced to Him by someone else who knows the Light and who knows the benefits thereof. “How can we hear, without a preacher?  Someone had to tell us about Jesus.

It is now our turn to help as many as we can to come to the saving experience of this Light that we know. And this light is Jesus.