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Test Your Sobriety

1 Peter 5:8 (AMP) Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.

“Be sober,” this is not talking about you being under the influence of recreational drugs and alcohol (as it does address that in the Bible as well). This is talking about your mind. It comes directly after Paul is telling us to cast all of our cares on Christ. What are some things that can intoxicate our minds? How about rehearsing a hurt? How about having conversations and arguments with someone who is not even around, just because you “felt attacked” on social media? How about looking for the ones to let you down, or keeping account of it (I know who is for me proclamations)? The enemy is looking to devour us and we serve it up a nice meal by making people out to be our enemies. Here are two scriptures for you:

Ephesians 6:12 (AMP) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. 

Matthew 5:43-45 (AMP) You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor (fellow man) and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may [show yourselves to] be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on those who are evil and on those who are good, and makes the rain fall on the righteous [those who are morally upright] and the unrighteous [the unrepentant, those who oppose Him]. 

It is a sad time that we see anyone who does not have the same views as ourselves as our enemy. It is even sadder that when we feel challenged that we believe it is because we have come in contact with an enemy. I am going to challenge you with this. Why? I believe that challenge brings growth. Branches do not bend just because they are going through a storm, they bend when there is heavy fruit on them. I am wanting to see the fruit. Unfortunately when we feel challenged we think it is a storm and have to fight back. We pray against the storm (a person) and do not realize that we have voluntarily gone under the influence of the Adversary.

Job 2:2 (MEV) The Lord said to the Adversary, “From where do you come?” And the Adversary answered the Lord, saying, “From roaming on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Hear me out. You have to renew your mind daily (Romans 12:2). You have to cast down those imaginations (2 Corinthians 10:5). Remember the first part of 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober.” The Adversary, Satan, is roaming around looking for someone to devour. I have to be vigilant with my thought life. I am not fearful, but I am learning more and more the triggers that cause me to be intoxicated with negative thoughts.

John 10:10 (AMP) The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

Here is a good test for myself: Did that thought cause me to lose my joy? Did that thought cause me to lose my patience with my brothers and sisters in Christ (Ephesians 42)? Am I struggling to see the best for them? Did I lose my peace and now in fear of being found out for how a truly feel about someone? Did I respond with kindness or defense? Did I exhibit self control or was I my just being my true self? If I am having a hard time exhibiting qualities of compassion for someone, it is because of me, not them. Christ said to pray. So that is what I am doing. I am praying for God to give me such a deep love for them, so that it is all that flows out of me. Unselfish love does not hold words, thoughts or feeling against one another.

Philippians 4:8 (AMP) Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

None of us have finished the race, as long as there is breath in our lungs (1 Corinthians 9:24). I am transforming more and more each day into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18). So that means I need to test my sobriety against the Word. I cannot be tested unless I am challenged. I will not grow the best fruit unless I submit to the pruning (John 15:1-8). I do not want to become stagnant and have a fixed mindset (Zephaniah 1:12), then I will start to stink up the areas of influence I once had and kill off others fruit. I want my thoughts to align with His thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:16). Just because something was true about someone ten years ago, does not mean it is true now. Allow growth in others, just like you would like for people to see growth in you also. Be sober minded.

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Is your delight conditional?

Job 22:25-26 (AMP) And make the Almighty your gold and your precious silver, then you will have delight in the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God.

No one likes being miserable. If they do, then we have other issues. Some people crave drama and do not feel like they are valuable unless they are right in the middle of a mess. Some want to be the savior in life. We have a term down south called, “spilling the tea.” What does it mean to spill the tea? It is to share exclusive information about a situation or a person. Plain and simple it is gossip.

That is what I think of when I read the book of Job. He had friends around him that liked to “spill the tea.” He was going through some tough times. Take the above scripture and put it into context.

Job 22:23-30 (AMP) If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored]; If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents, and place your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value], and make the Almighty your gold And your precious silver, then you will have delight in the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God. “You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
and you will pay your vows. “You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways. “When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence, and the humble person He will lift up and save. “He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent; And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job’s friend had made an assumption, that Job had turned away from God and that is why he was going into such calamity. My question is: why do I follow the precepts of God? Is it so that nothing bad will happen to me? Is that our assumption when someone in our church is going through hard times? They must have displeased God. Not true.

Yes, there are areas that we misstep. Here is one such area that we can be flimsy with: Malachi 3:16, “Bring all the tithes (the tenth) into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more room to receive it.”

There have been a time that, although we tithe, lightning has struck our electronics and we had to spend $1000 to replace them. Then the next week the truck started shuttering and had to pay out another $650 to fix it. Was our allegiance to God questioned? Did we have a secret sin that needed to be repented of? Did we step out of His covering? Nope.

John 10:10 (AMP) The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

Do you know what we didn’t do? We did not stop tithing, we did not stop giving, we did not stop serving, and we paid those bills with joy. Why? When you delight in Him, nothing the devil tries to steal will effect your position in Christ. We do not give to get. We give because of who He is. We serve because we love Him. We delight in Him no matter what comes our way. We do not change that when things are going good nor when things are challenging.

Psalms 119:16, (AMP) I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. For I shall delight in Your commandments, which I love.

Philippians 2:17 (AMP) But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith [for preaching the message of salvation], still I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

Job had done nothing against God to deserve such a tragedy, but have breath in his lungs. As long as we have breath in our lungs we have an enemy. It is not each other. The devil wants you to question God’s love for you. He wants you to question the Word. He wants you to question the standard of Christ. He wants you to think that you delighting in God does not really matter. It matters, but not in the way that we often think. It matters to chase His heart and face and not His hands. Job’s devotion to God was unconditional. The enemy is not trying anything new.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (AMP) In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.

Delighting in the Lord should not be conditional. We should not be asking for it to all end when we suffer. He does not punish us because of the low moments and He does not reward us in our highs. He is constant. He is immutable, never changing. He cares for us and loves us deeply. When we are deeply rooted in that love, the delight is unshakable. Our joy in in Him. Our satisfaction is in Him and not our conditions. We are to be inclined towards Him. Delight in Him!

Lord, You are our Creator and our Protector. You are our Banner of Love. Thank You for sending Your Son to set the standard of what it is like to delight in You. There is no one who suffered more without cause than Jesus, yet He kept His face towards You. Thank You for the power to overcome though the Holy Spirit. All is a gift from You because of Your Perfect Love. We repent for making our delight in You conditional. We repent for withholding our service, our relationships, our prayers and even our giving when we did not feel like it. We repent for making it about us. Thank You for Your Word piercing areas with fresh anointing oil. There is freedom in Your Word. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose love today. We choose joy today. We choose to glorify You today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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Not Rejected but Accepted

Psalm 142:5 (AMP) I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

In my personal studies I am reading the Bible in chronological order. I have been using the You Version App and it has a plan to read it in a year. I cannot say that I read every day, but I do catch it up to where I should be in line with what it wants me to be at. Right now I am in the middle of 1 Samuel and some of the Psalms. These were the Psalms that David wrote as he was being pursued by Saul the first time. I encourage you to read your Bible in different ways and in different translations. The Word of God is living and brings fresh revelation (like the manna) every day. Here are some that stood out to me:

Psalms 142: 4-7 (AMP) Look to the right [the point of attack] and see; for there is no one who has regard for me [to act in my favor]. Escape has failed me and I have nowhere to run; no one cares about my life. I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, “You are my refuge,my portion in the land of the living.
“Give attention to my cry, for I am brought very low; rescue me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I. “Bring my soul out of prison (adversity), so that I may give thanks and praise Your name; the righteous will surround me [in triumph], for You will look after me.”

Psalms 56:8 (AMP) You have taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not recorded in Your book?

Psalms 56:5 (AMP) All day long they twist my words and say hurtful things; all their thoughts are against me for evil.

Psalms 34:14 (AMP) Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Psalms 31:10-13 (AMP) For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing; my strength has failed because of my iniquity, and even my body has wasted away. Because of all my enemies I have become a reproach and disgrace, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me on the street run from me. I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel. For I have heard the slander and whispering of many, terror is on every side; while they schemed together against me, they plotted to take away my life.

Reading these passages out of context (just reading the Psalms on their own) we would think that anything against us we have the right to wale like David did. In that context when we “think” people, family and/or the world is against us we like to quote these verses of David. I want to make something clear, David was ACTUALLY/LITERALLY RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE!

I had a Psalms 56:5 moment the other day (All day long they twist my words and say hurtful things; all their thoughts are against me for evil.) Then I had to think, “If I had to explain this to an non-believer what would they think?” They would probably think I was nutty, fruity and flaky. Here is what I want you to notice what David did recognize, in Psalms 142:7, he writes, “Bring my soul out of prison (adversity), so that I may give thanks and praise Your name; the righteous will surround me [in triumph], for You will look after me.” When we lament over our thoughts of adversity, we put our own souls in prison. Most of the battles we are facing are in our minds, not like David here, who again was literally running for his life.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

People are not our problems. The more we dwell on them, and how you think you may feel about each other, we are putting up strongholds in the body of Christ that will keep us from reaching the ones that need Jesus. We are the light of the World and we cannot show our light if we keep putting up these strongholds. We cannot keep “feeling” like this against our brothers and sisters in Christ and be effective. We are doing like David said and have put our souls in prison. Let us cast down these thoughts, these imaginations and focus on who we are truly called to be.

1 Peter 2:9-10 (MSG) But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.

We are not rejected, we are accepted!