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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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My Treasure

Isaiah 33:6 (AMPC) And there shall be stability in your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His.

I love this verse. This verse has been on the cover of my Facebook page off and on for the past few years. How much do you desire stability? Stability in our lives makes us feel more secure and safe. You may be saying, ‘look at the things going on in the world, do they look stable?’ Right now there is a war in Israel. The United States just launched an air strike against Iran in retaliation for the attack that killed three American soldiers. Let’s not talk about the price of everything going up and the interest rates. Are those the things we look at to gauge stability?

John 14:27 (AMP) Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]

An abundance of salvation. This my heart leaps for because I want to see the captives set free. As I have written before, ‘Sozo’ is the Greek word for salvation. It means to save, deliver, heal, restore, to be made whole. In Hebrew it means deliverance and redemption. We cannot separate salvation from the need of repentance. I grow in my salvation when I realize I have a great need for Christ. I have to remind myself of that daily, because Amanda still likes to live. I so much want to surrender to that Sozo life.

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].

How many of us would like more wisdom and knowledge? I know I would. That is why I read every day, if I am able. Most days I am able to spend a couple of hours to read. I know that it is a something that not everyone is capable of doing. I did not start out with a couple of hours. I started out with maybe five to ten minutes. I had to make it a priority in my life. I make sure that i am at least reading a few verses from my Bible every day. When I am at the gym, I am listening to the Word being taught. I love the Messenger X app. It is completely free and is tool from Messenger International, a ministry of John and Lisa Bevere. Reading without application really is a form of disobedience. I will go further in that in my last point.

Joshua 1:8 (AMP) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be successful.

The reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His. This is where i want to sit for a moment. This fear is not of failure nor of punishment. It is ‘God, am I honoring You?’ Once we receive salvation we become new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). I am now called into the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). I am now an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Jesus gifted us with five fold ministry (Ephesians 4:10-11) and the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12-13). The fear of the Lord is also a gift. It is even a treasure. I take the Word very seriously, even the commands that Jesus left us. I am constantly allowing the Holy Spirit to put me in check because of the fear of the Lord. One verse really stood out to me this past week:

Exodus 20:7 (AMP) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].

Most of us were brought up with warning of not saying ‘oh my God’ or ‘Jesus Christ’ as response to be startled or in the heat of an argument, as in taking the Lord’s name in vain. How about how we live our lives as Christ’s ambassadors. Are we selfish? Are we self seeking? Do we put others down? Are we putting ourselves first? Do we take an account of a suffered wrong? Are we slandering? Do we stir up gossip and strife? All of these are taking the name of the Lord in vain. I have started to take this very serious in my life. I have written before that my prayer this year has been for God to increase His love in me, so that it is all that flows out of me. That requires me to submit to His cleaning some things out of me. Boy has this been an eye opener and stretching of my faith. The love walk is not an easy one. However, with the right training, it can become something we enjoy. I have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. FYI, those who just talk it and do not live it actually come off unloving. It is truly a humbling thing to go back and apologize. Asking for forgiveness is an essential part of our love walk. I have to continually die to the rights of Amanda.

I go to the gym five days a week, not because it helps me looks good. I go because it gives me strength that I am going to need one day (we all get older). That is why I submit to the Lord. It is not about me looking good. Every day I need that strength to go through some really tough things. I know that I am being watched by people. I know they are writing down my words. That can be a really scary thing. In James it talks about the great weight it is to teach the Word (James 1:1). People hold you to a higher standard. Then it talks about if anyone who does not say the wrong thing then they are perfect (James 1:2). I am not perfect. I do misquote things, not with the intention of twisting their meaning, but in my zeal for the Word. Why do I do it then? Honestly, I would rather not be doing it. Like Paul, I am a bond-servant to it (Galatians 1:10). Even if my words are judged, it is His Word that brings freedom. I am in awe of who He is. I cannot keep it to myself.

When I focused on the reverent fear of the Lord, as my treasure, things began to change in my life. Stability is in my time. I am not afraid for the future or what is going on around me. I am quicker to repent and put into practice what the Word says (James 1:25). I take it seriously. I have an abundance of salvation. I have more life, more hunger, more thirst, more contentment, more wholeness like never before. Wisdom and knowledge started to chase after me. The light bulbs started going off. The way I present the Word changed. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight (AMP).” My relationship with God is so much deeper than I could have ever imagined. He is not some distant God. He is not a God that cannot be reached. He is my secret place. I am surrounded by Him. The more I enter in, the more I am consumed by Him. He desires to meet with us face to face. He desires to commune with us like we read about with Abraham and Moses. We can have that. I do not need anyone to write books about me, when He has written the best one (Psalms 139:16, Ephesians 2:10). His authorship did not do away with my free will, I will still have to give an account (2 Corinthians 5:10). Focus on Him. Honor the Lord. Let Him be your treasure.

Yahweh, Elohim, our Master, our Creator, You are Holy. We do not need anything but You. Thank You for Your Son. Thank You for the Way that You provided, established at the beginning. You are the Author of the beginning and the end. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. We are alive in You because of that great gift. Thank You for the gift of Your Word, of the five fold ministry, of the body of Christ. We are sorry for the times we took these gifts for granted and did not hold them dear. Thank You for the gift of the righteous fear of You. You said that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. We desire Your Wisdom. We desire Your ways. We desire the stability that only You can bring. We repent for seeking out anything or anyone that would take attempt to take Your place. Thank You for the gift of salvation, for restoring us to wholeness. Thank You for forgiveness, let us be courageous in giving it away freely. We choose hope today. We choose love today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose joy today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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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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It’s hard right now

Proverbs 11:25 (AMP) The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched, and he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].

Proverbs 11: 25 (ASV) Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

Who feels like they are on hard times right now? You may not be financially or physically going through something, but mentally you have been. It is a fight to just stay positive. It is a fight just to be around people. It is a fight just to want to go to church. I believe that is the state of the body of Christ right now. They are just exhausted from the fight. Why? They do not see hope in the promise.

The enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). There is an “I AM” statement Jesus makes before this revelation. “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture (John 10:9). ” Then verse 10 goes in to say, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” I want to show one more thing, verse 8, “All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ” There is a thief, there is a deceiver, and he constantly comes at us; it is our choice to listen. Who is our protector? Jesus. Not my husband, not my children, not my friends, nor my parents. Jesus is my salvation. The meaning of “be saved” here is for eternity. He saved me from hell and He is my protector. He wants me to live a life of wholeness.

He desires us to come in and go out. What happens when the going out becomes a burden? What happens to us when we have been eating in the wrong pasture? I have seen quite a bit of hurt. I have been on the receiving end of quite a bit of hurt lately. It takes a toll on you when people withhold because they are also fighting that mental battle. The battlefield right now looks hopeless. My hope is in Him. I cannot lose focus on the one true Gate.

Psalms 23:5 (AMP) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

My enemy is not those who are withholding, it is the one who deceives. The enemy is satan. He is the accuser of the brethren and I will not eat from his pasture. I choose to eat from the banqueting table prepared for me (Luke 14: 16-24). There are many good excuses I can use for withholding, hurt being one them. However, it is not about me. It is about His Kingdom. Why do I not give of myself freely? My mind will come under attack and I think about the worth of the receiver. The deceiver has clouded my mind to think that the receiver is a created being and not my Creator. We cannot stand to serve His created when we think they get more of a benefit. The root, we have lost our position of love. We have become rooted and grounded in something else. I cannot lead in love if I have lost my position in love.

James 1: 12 (AMP) Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Press in! Press into your position of love that Jesus restored you to. Press in to the Victor and Protector when your mind is under attack. Press in when you feel hopeless. Press in and eat from the banqueting table laid out before you. Press in and let the enemy know that he has not won, that you are not lacking any good thing, and that his words do not have power over you. Our enemy is not flesh and blood and we need to stop treating each other as such.

James 4:1-2, 7-8 (AMP) What leads to [the unending] quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]?  You are jealous and covet [what others have] and your lust goes unfulfilled; so you murder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you.

Father, You are Holy, Good and Eternal. You are our Banner. Thank You for sending Your Son to restore us. It is Your Kingdom that we desire to come. It is Your will we want done. Thank You for seeing the banquet out before us. We repent for eating from the wrong tables. We repent for withholding because we have been angry. We repent for allowing the trials to get the better of us, for allowing the deceiver to speak louder than You. We choose to forgive today. We choose to stand in our right position of love and love others like it. We repent for quarreling amongst your body. We choose to submit to Your authority and Your ways. We put our trust in You. We want to glorify Your with our generosity. We want to see others grow, even surpassing our own growth. We run towards You. We desire You. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We are blessed because of who You are. In Jesus Name, Amen.