The Keys of the Kingdom

Today while studying Scripture, I came across a verse that stuck out at me like a sore thumb.  I've always glossed over the first half of the verse to get to the second half of the verse.  But today, the Spirit made me go slower, and the words literally jumped out at me, as if Someone had shone a light upon them.  Perhaps He did indeed.

The verse in question is Matthew 16:19:

Whenever I gloss over this verse, it's always to get to the "binding and loosing".  Most folks use that phrase with regards to spiritual warfare.  But what stuck out at me today was this:

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven...."

In my mind's eye, I pictured a ring of lovely golden keys, given to every saint of God.  Immediately, as the Spirit led my thoughts, I remembered of another set of keys -- the keys of Hell and death.

Christ says quite clearly in Revelation 1:18 that HE alone holds those keys.  Even more interesting is when you think that if Christ is the Keeper of those keys, then it is not Satan who reigns in Hell.  Our God reigns... Everywhere.  Hell might be the one place that God has removed His omnipresence, but He is still omniscient and omnipotent over all His creation.  Hell is not Satan's kingdom.  All dominion belongs to Yeshua as the Judge of the whole earth.

But what a contrast -- Christ holds the keys to Hell and death -- and His saints hold the keys to His Kingdom.  All authority has been given to Christ -- He is the Judge, the One sinners will face at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-12).  By His ruling and the witness of what's written in the books, He passes sentence, and those not covered by His atoning blood are banished forevermore.  Yet, to His Bride, the one He trusts, He has given the authority to open the very gates of Heaven.  What an honor!

The keys on our ring are Prayer, Knowledge, Wisdom, Spirit, Truth, the Gospel, and Christ Himself.  The only way into Heaven is through Him.  And it is up to His Body, the Church, to proclaim Him to the ends of the earth.  Not only that, but having the keys of His Kingdom also implies a few things.  For us, the gates of Heaven are wide open.  We can come in and commune with the Almighty (Rev. 1:6).  We can ask Him to send us legions of His angels (Matt. 26:53).  We can call on spiritual blessings to rain down upon us (Eph. 1:3).  And the armies of Heaven are at our back (Luke 10:19). 

The gates of Heaven won't open for merely anyone, but only to sons and daughters of the Most High (Eph. 1:5).  Through Christ, we are now accepted into the Family of God -- but that family doesn't lump us in with the angels -- the Family of God is the very Triune Godhead Himself.

We are now accepted in Yeshua, the Beloved (Eph. 1:6).  Our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).  And Christ is the very Son of God.  When we are glorified, as He is now, we will share in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).  Not to become gods ourselves, but to be higher than the angels (Hebrews 1:13, Revelation 3:21).  This is why He gives us His authority and the keys to His Kingdom.

In the verse preceding the verse about the keys of the Kingdom, Yeshua tells us in Matthew 16:18:

The gates of Hell shall never prevail against His Church.  Why?  Because Yeshua Himself holds the keys to Hell and death! 

Yeshua, quite literally, has authority over the gates of Hell, and He has the keys and the power to lock them.  The gates of Hell CANNOT prevail because it is on YESHUA's authority that they remain locked.  There is no way Hell can overcome the will of GOD.

No one else has the keys but Christ!

Being a saint of Yeshua, able to open the gates of the Kingdom, is not only an enormous privilege, but a glorious power.  Once we understand those gates open by turning the key in our own hand, imagine the sway we could have in prayer if we but applied it!  As Charles Spurgeon once said, "Prayer is the slender nerve that moves the muscle of omnipotence."  Think about that for a moment.  When your will aligns with God's will, your prayer can move mountains!  Nothing is impossible for God.  An open door in Heaven means God listens to His saints.  God blesses His saints.  God provides for His saints.  And God protects His saints.

And one day, we will ourselves walk through those very gates of Glory, and smile at the ring of keys given to us at Calvary, embossed with our name, dangling earnestly, and well-used, from the unbolted pearly lock.

~~Becka

A Study on the First Great Commandment

Today as I was driving in my van, taking the kids to Grandma's, a song came on my iPod - twice.  It's not on my list twice, but it must have cycled through the list and played it again on shuffle.  It's a song entitled "Love the Lord your God" by Lincoln Brewster.  If you don't know the First Great Commandment, then you will after listening to this song.  :P

 

When something happens to me twice in the span of a few hours or on the same day, I usually take notice.  Sometimes it's God trying to get my attention.  So, I began thinking about this Great Commandment and how it ties in to abiding in Yeshua.  Abiding in Christ is one of the big themes on my blog, and therefore I wanted to tie it in with that theme.  

In Scripture, Christ gives the Two Great Commandments after someone asks Him, "What is the greatest commandment in the Law?"  Christ responds with this in Mark 12:30:

He actually responds with the Shema, which is what devout Jews recite every morning and evening -- "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" and then goes into the "Love the Lord your God..." from Deuteronomy 6:4-5. 

Okay, let's examine each word and what they mean, because even though we recite this, we might not really internalize what the words mean.

Love the Lord your God with all your:

HEART

With all your love, basically.  Every piece of your heart - it says "ALL" of your heart.  You put God first in your life and everything else second.  From the heart springs praise, worship, adoration, and devotion.  The heart is where your desires come from.  Loving God with all your heart makes HIM your Desire.  If the world offered you all its riches, you'd shun them - you don't love material items, you love GOD.

Love the Lord your God with all your:

SOUL

The soul is your being, your life-force.  It is the seat of your morality as you were made in the image of God.  Loving God with your soul is connecting to Him in prayer by His Spirit.  Your spirit tunes in with His Spirit and you touch the eternal.  It is by the soul we are able to come into His presence.

Love the Lord your God with all your:

MIND

The mind is the center of your thoughts.  It is where you reason, how you learn, obtain wisdom and gain knowledge.  It is with our mind we seek God, and we therefore find Him with our soul.  As Scripture tells us to think on things that are pure and righteous (Philippians 4:8), that is how we love Him with our minds.  Learning of Him and thinking on holy things.

Love the Lord your God with all your: 

STRENGTH

It is with our strength we are able to do deeds for God.  Through our strength, we serve Him.  Our strength gives us courage when our hearts fail us.  Our faith springs forth from the courage in our hearts.  Whatever our hearts' desire, the tenacity with which we want that desire determines the strength by which we obtain it.  Therefore, if we love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, our strength flows from that devotion.  Even if our flesh and our hearts may fail, GOD is the strength of our hearts, and our portion forever (Psalm 73:26).  Our strength gives us the ability to serve Him, to obey Him, and the perseverance to trust Him.

Scripture says in Ecclesiastes 4:12 that a cord of three strands is not easily broken.  This cord of the First Great Commandment has four.  If each element of this cord is in place, our close, abiding bond with Yeshua will never be broken.  This is how we abide in Him without falling away.  Most Christians who feel far from God say, "Yeah, I pray, I make time for God first thing in the morning.  I do read my Bible.  I go to church.  Why is God silent?"

Compare your walk with Yeshua against the First Great Commandment.  Do you love Him with all your heart?  Every last DROP of your devotion and praise?  Do you thank God for creating you?  Do you praise His name for saving you?  Do you marvel at His creation and see His glory wherever you turn?  

Do you love Him with all your soul?  When you pray are you mouthing words to an empty room, or truly stepping into the Throne Room of the Most High?  Is prayer a duty or a pleasure?  Does it annoy you, one more thing on your to-do list, or do you crave it as a balm to your weary soul?  

Do you love Him with all your mind, are you endlessly seeking Him (as that is what it means to "seek")?  Seeking is a continual process.  One does not merely "find" God and be done with it.  Seeking implies continual treasure-hunting, going back into the mine to find more and more gold.  One knows they are truly seeking God when one golden nugget of Truth simply isn't enough.  They must have more and more.  This treasure trove is bottomless, therefore the seeker can now only hunger after the very Bread of Life.  The treasures of the world grow strangely dim against the glorious gems of God's Spiritual wisdom.  

And finally, do you love Him with all your strength?  Do you continue to serve and obey Him, even when the road gets rough?  Do you continue to trust and have faith though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death?  Can you say to yourself, "I am merely walking *through* the valley, I am not stopping forever.  Death is merely a shadow, not an eternal darkness.  And where there's a shadow, there's a Light.  God is beside me."  Can you say that honestly?  Are you serving God with courage, and perseverance, when the sweat pours off your brow and you're tired and beaten down by those who would seek to shake your faith?  Is God alone the strength of your heart?  Is He the first place you turn when you are faced with a problem?

These four cords are braided so tightly around each other that you cannot abide if you do not have one of these cords.  If you do not have the heart, you cannot have any strength.  Without strength, your mind will fail.  Without your mind, you cannot refresh your soul.  And your soul cannot seek the Spirit of God without the heart.  Not only is the First Great Commandment a braided cord with four strands, but it is an endless circle as well.  A ring.  

Quite fitting, considering Yeshua is our Bridegroom.

As I was studying these words, I went back and read the original text in Deuteronomy our Lord was quoting.  Here is what it says in Deuteronomy 6:5:

Do you notice what's missing from this verse in Deuteronomy compared to what Yeshua told us in Mark 12:30?  I have never noticed this little gem before, because I've never bothered to look at this section in Scripture with any scrutiny.  I wonder if this is all part of the Spirit's plan for prompting me to do this study? 

Christ tells us in Mark to love the Lord our God with all our MIND.  That word is conspicuously missing in the Deuteronomy text.  And yet, the Lord quotes the Shema perfectly in Mark.  I know the Spirit doesn't whisper things to me unless He wants me to know some truth, so I asked Him why.  "Why does Yeshua add the mind in Mark, Lord?"

The answer actually floored me, and it came quite quickly.  Yeshua taught a new way of interpreting the Law.  He taught that we can break it even with our THOUGHTS.  If we look at a woman with lust, we have committed adultery with her (Matthew 5:28).  If we hate our brother, we have murdered him (Matthew 5:21-22).  Yeshua, being the Word of God, was teaching that not only should we love the Lord inwardly (heart), prayerfully (soul), and outwardly (strength), but also with our very thoughts (mind).  I have no doubt this was monumental to the Jews of the day, devout Jews who recited the Shema every morning and evening.  It was with this one amendment to the Shema that Christ blew the minds of His brethren.  

If thoughts are on the table in breaking God's Law, then no one is saved by the Law.  Christ proved many times that He could read thoughts: Matthew 9:4, Luke 9:47, John 1:45-50.

And thus, He subtly told everyone present they were guilty of sin and needed a Savior.  They needed HIM.

Hallelujah, this study is better than I'd hoped!  That's when you know the Hand of God directed it.  Thank You, Lord, for playing that song twice today, else I wouldn't have found this vein of gold.  \O/

~~Becka

Intriguing Study on The Word of God

Whenever God wants me to study something, He usually lays it on my heart until I follow through.  This study did not come about by any curiosity of my own, but rather, a nagging in my spirit whenever I came across a teaching on the Word of God -- but not just Scripture, also Christ Himself.  That "nagging" feeling is usually how I recognize the Holy Spirit telling me to pay attention, He's got awesome in mind.

Before I started this study, I prayed about it, and asked God to reveal a few things.  There are so many different references to God's Word, that one might be a bit boggled about what it truly is.  Most folks go with the knee-jerk answer -- the Bible.  But that's not the end of the story.  John 1:1 and John 1:14 clearly state that the Word was with God, the Word was God, and the Word became flesh.  Therefore, the second answer one might give to the question "What is God's Word?" is Christ Himself.  And they would be correct.

The answer to "What is God's Word?" is, quite simply, YESHUA the Messiah.  Now that we've gotten the answer out of the way, let me go in depth and show you what God revealed to me as to WHY Yeshua is the Word of God.

Late one night, with prayer (and Bible Gateway) as my only mode of communication, He gave me a list of attributes for the Word.   I studied the list, amazed at what I'd found, and I determined to find Scripture to bear witness to this list the very next day.  It wasn't hard.  The Spirit was moving.  So here we go.

COMMANDMENT

"You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you." ~Deuteronomy 4:2

The Word of God is His commandments.  Rules to live by.  Laws that He has made.  The way of life that He has decreed.  God laid down the Ten Commandments for Moses in the Old Testament, and Yeshua told us of the Two Great Commandments in the New Testament; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37:40). 

God's commandments are less about oppression and following a set of arbitrary rules and more about living a life that mirrors HIM.  Therefore, the commanding Word of God reflects the likeness of Yeshua, the ultimate perfection we should strive to become.

SCRIPTURE

"And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them" ~Deuteronomy 17:18-19

Scripture is nothing more than the written Word of God.  The Word was written down to pass on to the next generation, so they will "learn to fear the Lord and keep His commandments".  Ever play a game of "telephone"?  By the time you get to the last person, the original message has been twisted to something completely different.  God didn't wish for this to happen to His commands through word-of-mouth, which is why He had scribes and prophets write down His Word.  This is why the Bible is called the Word of God.  It's God's promises written down.  It's where we go to encounter and learn of Yeshua every single day.  Without God's written Word, we wouldn't know Him.  Therefore, the written Scriptures reveal the True Word of God, Yeshua.

PROMISE

"Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant." ~1 Kings 8:56

 

In 1 Kings, we see that God's Word is also a promise, of which God keeps, not even one of His words fail.  God has many, many promises spoken throughout the Bible, promises never to abandon His inheritance (Psalm 94:14) and to hear the prayers of His children (Proverbs 15:29), among countless others, one of the most important being the promise of Messiah.  Therefore, Yeshua is the physical embodiment of the promise of the Word of God.

PROPHECY

"Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah:" ~Isaiah 38:4

"The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:" ~Jeremiah 7:1

"The word of the Lord came to me:" ~Ezekiel 25:1

All throughout the prophets, both minor and major, they have one central theme -- the word of the LORD came to them.  God chose these men to speak to, not only to tell them of the future, but also God's plan for mankind through His Son Yeshua.  God gives prophecy so that when it happens, we'll believe (John 13:19).  Therefore, prophecy fits nicely with the promise above, as God knows in advance what He will do.  Prophecy is nothing more than God's future promises that have yet to come to pass.  But all prophecy ultimately culminates in Yeshua's reign over the heavens and the earth and how we eventually end up, as sheep or goats (Matthew 25:32).  There are prophecies proclaiming both His First and Second Coming.  Therefore, the future promises of the prophetic Word of God are about Yeshua and His Kingdom.

TRUTH

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." ~2 Timothy 2:15

God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19).  Therefore, His Word is truth.  Everything He says is true.  It's true He keeps His promises.  And if each of His promises have come true, then His prophecy (future promises) comes true as well.  God has proven Himself countless times to His people.  He brought the Israelites out of Egypt and gave them the land promised to Abraham.  He even brought the Jews back to their promised land in 1948, fulfilling Isaiah 66:7-8.  We know the truth of the Word of God relates to Yeshua, because He even called Himself the Truth in John 14:6. 

CREATION

"And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light." ~Genesis 1:3

God's Word speaks creation into being.  This is in perfect parallel with verses such as John 1:1-3, Isaiah 48:13, & Colossians 1:16.  We know that John calls Christ the "Word" and the Creator, through Isaiah, God Himself says He created the heavens, and Paul says Christ created everything in Colossians.  We can therefore extrapolate that CHRIST is the one releasing the power of God all throughout Scripture.  If God speaks, it is therefore CHRIST speaking.  Anywhere in the Bible when the audible voice of God is heard, it is Yeshua.  

UNTIL Christ came to live a human life on earth.  

Remember, Yeshua did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (Philippians 2:6) and left His Throne of Glory to save us all.  Therefore, there are two times when the voice of God was heard and it was the FATHER, not the Son.  When Christ was baptized (Matthew 3:17) and when Christ prayed with the Greeks (John 12:28).  This was because when He was upon the earth, He was submissive to the Father.  However, His rightful spot is one of authority at the right hand of God.  Now that He has died for His children, was buried, then raised into glory, the Father has given all authority back to Yeshua, the Creator, through the Word of God.  

AUTHORITY

"And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." ~Matthew 28:18  

The Word of God has always been the authority of God, especially if His authority is wrapped up in His  Command, His Promise, and His Truth. Now that Yeshua has returned to His Throne, He is the final authority of God.  The Father has stepped aside and given all authority to His right hand, which is Christ.  Now and forevermore, when God speaks, it is Yeshua, not the Father, because all authority has been given to Him.  Therefore, Yeshua is the one and only authority behind the Word of God.

ALIVE

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." ~Hebrews 4:12

In the book of Hebrews, we learn the Word of God is ALIVE.  This verse actually has a double meaning, in my opinion.   Here, the author is likely speaking of Scripture as the Spirit-breathed Word, alive because every word in it has been anointed and inspired by the Holy Spirit.  However, the other meaning of the verse is the True Word of God, Yeshua, is ALIVE as well, resurrected from the grave, and sitting bodily glorified on the Throne of God.  Right this very moment.  And He is OFFENSIVE to this perishing world!  Nothing gets under an unbeliever's skin more than the mere mention of Jesus Christ.  Sing about God all day long, but say "Jesus", and prepare for war.  "The Word is Alive and sharper than a two-edged sword" indeed.  If He was dead, if His written Word was dead, there'd be no need to get so hot under the collar.

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

"and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" ~Ephesians 6:17

Ephesians pretty much says the same thing as Hebrews above.  The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.  The Word of God is Yeshua.  The cool thing about Scripture is that it confirms itself.  We see in Revelation how the "sword of the Spirit" comes from the mouth of Yeshua at His Second Coming -- which is where God speaks His WORD: "Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty." ~Revelation 19:15

GOSPEL

"And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith." ~Acts 6:7 

The Word is the very Gospel itself.  The story of God, coming to earth to live a perfect life in Yeshua, dying upon the cross, and taking our sin to His grave so that we can have His righteousness is the very Word of God.  It was the culmination of all God's promises in the Old Testament.  Therefore, the Gospel itself is the WORD of God -- it's the work of Christ, spoken by God in ages past, yet not fully understood until His plan was revealed at the First Advent.  Therefore, the "Word of God" increased as disciples multiplied -- more people believed, the Spirit indwelt more and more believers, and God's plan began to unfold, saving men from the power of the grave!  The Gospel itself, therefore, is God's promise of His own Word fulfilled -- as the Word Himself fulfilled His own Commandments to give us His Grace.

 WORDS OF CHRIST

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." ~Colossians 3:16 

In Colossians, we see an amazing switch in the verbage -- I even checked multiple translations and they all say the same.  Paul clearly says "the word of Christ" instead of the word of God.  It's not a big deal to us now, because we know Christ IS God.  However, this verse proves Christ's words are God's words.  Because Paul declares the Word of Christ is the same as the Word of God, then we can go back through the Gospels and take every word of Christ as a promise, a command, a truth, with the power of creation, spoken in authority, and a living Sword able to cut through both soul and spirit.  Too cool!  Therefore, even when Yeshua was on earth, when the Father had authority, Christ still had His divine privilege as the Word of God.

CHRIST HIMSELF

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." ~John 1:1

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." ~John 1:14

"He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God." ~Revelation 19:13 

Finally, we come to Christ Himself.  Most folks think Christ as the "Word" is only referenced in the book of John.  However, it's also mentioned in Revelation, giving two witnesses in Scripture (Deut. 19:15) of the same truth.  Yeshua Messiah is the living Word of God, who speaks for God, who has all the authority of God, the One who creates, and the One who makes all things new.  If nothing else, I hope this study has given you a new perspective on the Word of God, and an eagerness to now read the Old Testament with "new glasses".  The Word of God speaks -- and He's JESUS CHRIST.

Amen, now and forever more.  To God be the glory!  \O/

My Experiences with Spiritual Warfare

Amen.  Ol' Scratch don't like me much.  If I forget to ask God to cover my house with His protection at night, I get attacked in my sleep - without fail - and I'm not just talking about having "bad dreams."

The enemy tries his hardest to instill fear in me, but I'm just not afraid of him.  Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).  I have read a few books on spiritual warfare, and while that hardly makes me an expert, I feel confident enough as a Christian to rebuke demons. 

They started paying attention to me right after I shifted gears in my life and rededicated myself to God.  When I was dormant and sitting on the sidelines, I wasn't a threat to them.  But now, I am loud and proud about storming the gates of Hell and not worried about who's watching.

I never really thought about spiritual warfare before until my children began telling me they were hearing voices in the house.  I don't believe in ghosts, I believe in demons.  I know my kids were telling me the truth due to my own experiences as a child.  I, too, used to hear voices calling my name in an empty house.  I used to hear them speak horrible, hateful things about me in a sing-song type voice, either talking really fast, like a tape recorder on fast forward, or really slow like a video on super-slow-mo.  I, too, used to feel an intense fear, see shadows, and once, even witnessed an apparition in my room.

I'm not completely "green" when it comes to the spiritual realm.

After reading a fabulous book called "I Give You Authority" by Charles Kraft, I went through my house room by room and rebuked anything that might be lurking in the mighty name of Jesus.  After that, as the spiritual authority in my home, I declared the demons were not allowed to touch my children, they could only come through me.  I've learned that demons are very legalistic.  They follow rules.  And if one in authority claims their authority, they must listen and obey that authority.

They stopped pestering my children.

Until I learned how to come before God and wield my rights as a child of God, the enemy attacked me almost every night after that.  They'd come into my dreams and pounce on me.  I don't often realize my dream is demonic until they've already pounced, as they catch me off guard.  They do this so I don't have "time" to call upon Jesus, and, without fail, they try to prevent me from doing so.

Within these dreams, I've had my voice altered, as if they're trying to change how my vocal chords work so I can't say Jesus' name.  I've been choked many times.  And once, in a particularly vivid dream, a demon jumped on my back and shoved its fist down my throat.  They've tied me up, set me on fire, made their hatred known, and even sent a "super demon" to face me once.

I call him a "super demon" because I don't know how else to describe him.  He was enormous.  He was powerful.  And he growled much like the Balrog in the movie "The Fellowship of the Ring".  In the dream, he'd slammed my son and my baby daughter against a wall.  I pretty much went "Spirit Filled Mama Bear" on him when I saw that.  I ran into the room, and immediately, I was in the center of the room, like a "cut-scene", it's the only way to describe it.  My legs were planted firmly apart and my arms were reaching toward Heaven.  I believe God put me in that posture because I could feel the Spirit of the Living God coursing through me.  It rained down on me like a waterfall, hitting the floor and spreading throughout the room like fingers of thick mist.

I screamed, "Get away from them, in the name of Jesus Christ!"  My voice was deeper and stronger than it is in the natural, more guttural, and full of power.

The demon immediately whipped around to face me and screamed "JESUS!" right back.  I'm unsure if he was taunting me, cursing at me, or genuinely surprised I could rebuke him.  I didn't tell him to leave, just to stop harming my kids, of which he immediately did.  But since he didn't immediately leave, I thought I'd have to rebuke him again.  In that moment, God woke me up.

Usually, if I don't fully rebuke a demon in my dream, I can still "feel" it in the room upon waking.  It's an odd feeling.  An oppressive feeling of darkness and fear.  But once I rebuke it in the natural, it slinks away, and one even left somewhat reluctantly, as if I was prey it wanted to play with like a cat playing with a mouse.

But there was no trace of this "super demon" when I awoke.  I felt nothing but peace in my spirit.  I believe God completely took care of it for me.  Perhaps it was bigger than I could have handled on my own.  Or perhaps it decided to leave after seeing the grand display of God's glorious power pouring out of Heaven and down through my body.  Maybe he decided it wasn't worth it, that God Almighty vehemently and jealously protects this little "nobody" housewife.

Ever since that encounter, I've had a couple of times when I'd forgotten to pray for God's protection over my house and my dreams and they've tried to get at me again.  But what I find amusing is the last time they attacked me in a dream, the demon was down the hall of a house I was in, and he only peeked his head around the corner.  He wouldn't come any closer.  I rebuked him easily, but after I woke up from that dream, I couldn't help but laugh.  It makes me joyous to know the enemy is frightened of me.  It gives me more faith in God that He is with me wherever I go.

I've learned through all this that even when they choke you or change your voice or even shove their fist in your mouth, if you just *think* your rebuke in Jesus' name, they immediately let you go.  God can hear our thoughts and He will not leave us to fight alone.  "All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).

I really don't know what prompted me to write this post -- I felt the Spirit wanted my brethren to know what I've been going through and a little of what I've learned to protect myself in spiritual warfare.  I don't talk about this at all to anyone, because it is a little uncomfortable.  Even fellow Christians don't like to talk about demons, and if one goes around talking about being attacked in their dreams, people they tell might be skeptical.  Therefore, I keep this kind of thing to myself.

But God is telling me to share my knowledge.  Perhaps more of you are being attacked as well.  So here is what I've learned during my trials of war.

Every night, I pray and ask God to protect my dreams, and the dreams of every member of my family.  I ask Him to hide my house in the spiritual realm.  Sometimes, I ask Him to hide it in the shadow of His wings, or to cover my house with His hand.  I ask for angels to be posted in every corner of my house, as well as my property, and I ask for them to sing praises to God in the spirit.  I cannot hear them, but demons can, and they won't be lurking about with the Heavenly Host singing, "Hallelujah!"

I know God honors these kinds of "creative" prayers, because once I got cocky and asked Him to shine my house like a beacon in the night with His glory so that every demon for miles around would know a Christian lived here.  I asked for angels singing loudly in the skies above my house, and basically for my house to be like a spotlight.  For about a week after that, I had to deal with some hairy spiritual stuff.  I definitely got some attention.  Therefore ever since then, I've asked God to HIDE my house in the spirit rather than advertise where I live.

And every night I pray for protection, I have it.  Peaceful, warm dreams about whatever.  But the night I forget to pray for God to cover my dreams and my house -- the demons press in.  They're looking for any chink they can find, any weakness to get at me.  But even so, the demon from my last dream wouldn't even come out from around the corner.

While this sounds scary to the average Christian, its really not.  Demons are more like cockroaches than Hollywood horror.  When one properly exercises their authority over them, they must obey.  Christ is greater and He lives within the brethren.  We are His Body, and if we call upon our Head -- Jesus -- He'll route those demons and send them packing.  "Whatever is bound on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven" (Matthew 18:18).

Therefore, put on your armor, believer, and do not allow the enemy to get the better of you -- even at your most vulnerable.  They refuse to face me when I'm awake.  It's always when I'm asleep.  Demons are cowards, especially when they're trying to pester a Christian who is fully aware of their inheritance and authority in Christ.  They will not shake me.  My God is greater.  "If God is for me, who can stand against me?" (Romans 8:31)

Spiritual Starvation

Today, I was wondering what makes me different than everyone I know?  What makes me strange to the world?  Why am I constantly driven to learn more of God?  Why do I have this burning desire within me when even other Christians I know don't have this desire, or at least not to the extent I do?  If I had no family and no responsibilities, I would literally be online, or reading God books, or studying Scripture, or watching sermons, or listening to religious podcasts -- ALL. DAY.  I would pray, I would study, I would write 10,000 notes in my Bible.

Being a stay-at-home mom has its advantages.  I do spend a good amount of time learning of God and "kneeling" in my "prayer closet".

I think the Spirit gave me a little insight into what's going on here.  I'm suffering from a spiritual starvation.  What does that mean?  Well, I'll give you an example.  You know how sometimes you watch the Food Network and you think, "Man, it would be awesome to take some culinary classes!"  Not to become a "chef", per se, but just to learn how to properly cook.  How to cook GOOD food, not just... pork chops.

I often feel this way about learning the things of God.  I think how cool it would be to go to Seminary.  I'm not even remotely thinking of becoming a pastor, but man, it would be amazing to take some MEATY classes to learn how to properly study the Bible.  Or learn about God in general through a course that makes you write papers and research the Scriptures.

I want to know God, truly KNOW Him.  I want to unpack Bible verses.  I want to hear entire sermons that go through a book of the Bible and study it verse by verse.  I believe this is called exegesis.  I'm STARVING for this kind of teaching.

I feel like my Christian walk is like sipping milk rather than chewing on meat.

 

The problem I've found, however, is that the Body of Christ at large seems to be suffering from this starvation as well -- and they don't even know it!  They go to church, sing a few songs, hear a lovely message, and don't leave the building CHANGED.  They don't leave THINKING.  They don't have their world rocked by a revelation found in a specific Bible verse.

Part of this starvation in myself came about because this summer of 2012, the Lord Himself took me -- line by line -- through the entire book of Ephesians and unpacked every verse for me.  It was my most jaw-dropping, eye-opening period of awakening to the Scriptures in my entire life.  I've read Ephesians countless times, but the Spirit made me slow down and digest each verse, and truly understand what it was saying while at the same time, giving me a spiritual knowledge of what it meant.

After Ephesians, God took me through Galatians, Philippians, and Colossians.  The summer of '12 was an incredible time of tutelage for me under the Holy Spirit.  But my lament now comes from the fact that unless I do deep study myself, I don't get fed in this way by conventional means.

Don't get me wrong, I love my church and all the leaders.  I love learning different views from different people and discussing things amongst fellow Christians.  I love the "lighter" sermons about forgiveness or remembrance or chatting about a Bible story.  But I also need to have that deeper MARROW of Biblical teaching that will satisfy this hunger that's driving me to KNOW God.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about - I LOVE it when I hear a teaching from Genesis that the pastor then ties in to a verse from Isaiah.  Or how the book of Joshua might fit in as well.  I LOVE learning about prophecy, not only of who Messiah is, but His Second Coming as well.  I ADORE cross-referencing Scripture and gaining new insight into something from an obscure passage in the book of Amos.  I enjoy learning the original words in Hebrew and/or Greek, to get the full understanding of what the author was trying to convey.

However in today's churches, it seems there's a general "glossing over" of the Old Testament.  They might pick out some Psalms and Proverbs, maybe the random Isaiah at Christmas-time, but as a rule, the teachings are all on the New Testament.  For me, this robs God of His Hebrew heritage, of the history behind Christ and why He chose to reveal Himself through the Jews in the first place.  And I'll be the first to admit I don't study the Old Testament as well as I should.  But I WANT to.  I want to find nuggets of God's amazingness in Deuteronomy just as I did in Ephesians this summer.

Case in point -- did you know that Moses' "suffering symbol" for the people of Israel in Numbers 21 was a precursor to the cross?

Why NOT?!  I first learned about Moses' suffering symbol, not from a sermon, but through a SONG by Michael Card.  I've read about it before, as I've read the book of Numbers, but unless we're TAUGHT these gems, we don't always see them.

The cross of Christ and foreshadow of Him is ALL OVER the Old Testament.  Christ Himself even told us the Scripture prophesied of Him.  During His life, the ONLY Scripture was OT!  THIS is what I want to learn!

There are certain pastors who still preach in the way I "crave".  I absolutely ADORE Charles Stanley.  That man preaches everything the Holy Spirit has been revealing to me in my own study.  I love listening to him and being "confirmed" time and again by what I've learned myself.  Matt Chandler is excellent for the younger generation, a 30-something preacher who's survived a brain tumor and goes line-by-line in Scripture, unpacking the meaning behind verses.  Another pastor I love is JD Greear.  He's written a book entitled "Gospel" that blew me away.  Why have I NEVER understood the grace of God like this before?  Joseph Prince is an acquired taste for sure, however, when he digs into Scripture, they come alive for me.  John Piper is amazing, as well as Paul Washer, both unafraid to "tell it like it is" and confront your lackadaisical beliefs.  And give me ANYTHING to read by Charles Spurgeon, and I'll devour it like a starving man at Thanksgiving dinner.

I want to be challenged, I suppose.  I want to hear messages I don't already "know".  I feel as if pastors sometimes cater to the milk-fed while starving the meat-hungry.  Perhaps they themselves don't know the meat.  Perhaps they don't know the difference between milk and meat.  Perhaps they think they are preaching meat when in reality, it is only milk.  Perhaps God is leading me down this road because He wants ME to know the difference.

When I realized what my problem was, that I was spiritually hungry for MORE than what I'm learning, I said a bold prayer.  I asked God to teach me Himself.  Somewhere along the way, the Church has lost her Spurgeons, her Wilberforces, her Bunyans, her Edwards.  We've had a few modern day preachers such as they -- AW Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill and the like, but they, too, have passed away.  This generation of preachers needs to buckle down while telling their congregations to buckle up.

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep."

~~John 21:17

Amen.  Let us not assume our churches are filled with people who rightly know the grace of God through His Gospel.  Until I read a book on it specifically, I didn't.  Let us not assume we know all there is to know about foreshadow and prophecy in the Old Testament.  Let's not have the children in our Sunday Schools be the only members in church learning about King David or Noah or Abraham or Adam! 

As 2013 begins, let's recommit to feeding the sheep of God and giving His Body a deeper, richer walk with Him.  Unless pastors and leaders truly ABIDE in Yeshua, neither can their flock.  HIS flock.  It is an awesome responsibility to be a man (and woman) of God.  Let us not skate through it and assume we know it, or that they know it.  As the Body needs to be challenged, so too do our pastors.

Dig in.  Overturn.  Seek.  Knock.  FIND.

It is the glory of God to conceal things,
    but the glory of kings is to search things out.

~~Proverbs 25:2

~~Becka

Spiritual Illumination of the Word

Do you have a specific Bible verse that's sort of ... hounded you all your life?  You've read it a bunch of times, but it never really made sense?  You haven't done any study on it, but every time you read it, your brow furrows.  Pastors may have mentioned it, but they never really get into the WHY behind the verse.

My mystery passage of Scripture is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

This Scripture is speaking of a specific sin, or thorn, in Paul's side that was causing him "pain".  We don't know exactly what it was, but he speaks of it as a "messenger of Satan", to keep him from becoming conceited in the wonderful visions and revelations Christ gave him.  In other words, God allowed Paul to have this vice to keep him humble.  However Paul wanted God to remove it.  But God spoke, and Paul realized "When I am weak, then I am strong."

And there it is.  The mystery that has stymied me all my life.  How is it possible to be strong when you're weak?  All my life I had assumed it meant Christ gives you the appropriate strength you need in times of crisis and weakness.  I suppose that's true.  But I don't believe that's the full scope of this passage.

If you notice, the Lord tells Paul His GRACE is sufficient.  His power is "made perfect" in weakness.  Well...  Ack, what does THAT mean?!  God gave us grace at the cross, we're covered with it and clothed by it.  It's all around us.  We're saved by it AND we live by it.  It is by grace we resemble Christ at all, amen?  But what does "made perfect in weakness" mean?  Isn't God's power already perfect?  And why only in weakness?  What's going on here?

As the Spirit sometimes does with me, the revelation of this verse came to me quite by surprise.  I hadn't read it in awhile, as I'm studying other books than Corinthians.  It just popped into my head one day.  God said, "Here, understand this."  And I believe this Spiritual understanding is the very KEY to knowing how Paul was able to rejoice always (1 Thess. 5:16), no matter what came at him (Philippians 1:20-21).

You see, God was showing Paul, through the "thorn" in his side (that was likely a certain sin he kept committing *see Romans 7*), that God's grace is enough for him -- the very grace given to him at the cross.  This revelation to Paul wasn't God's flippant reply to Paul's genuine guilt and shame over a habitual sin, but rather a LESSON IN THE GOSPEL.

At the cross, Christ became our sin and we became His righteousness.  Anyone who knows my walk with Yeshua knows 2 Corinthians 5:21 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, because it outlines what actually happened that day.  Christ became "me", and I became "Him".  Galatians 2:20 (another favorite) says we DIED with Him on the cross and the life we now live is CHRIST in us.

So, it was our life for His Life, a life of sin and shame traded for a Life of Righteousness and Truth.  God placed OUR sin record on Yeshua, and gave US His mantle of Righteousness.  God then turned His face away from Yeshua so that He could gaze upon us.  We now have the favor of the Father toward the Son of God.

With regards to Paul's "thorn", God was saying that all of Paul's sins are GONE.  His record is wiped clean.  It is a struggle to live holy, but God knows its impossible, which is why He sent Christ to atone for us.  This is why God's GRACE is enough.  Because by His Grace, our sins are as white as snow.  We agonize over stumbling, but God tells us not to.  His Grace is enough.  He remembers our sins no more.  Christ already paid our punishment.  So while we hurt because we sin against God, the Lord is telling us there is now no more condemnation (Romans 8:1).

"My Grace is enough!"

But how could God's power be made perfect in our weakness?  Why is it when we're weak, we're strong?

Certainly Christ gives us strength when we ask it of Him.  But it is because of God's grace at the CROSS that we are strong when we are weak.  We are leaning on HIS work.  On HIS blood.  On HIS atonement.  It is by HIS strength we're saved at all!  So in that darkest moment, when you've stumbled into that familiar sin, THAT is when you're strong in Christ, because you already have the Victory.  You are an overcomer because He overcame.  Our identity is found in Him.  His Grace is the eraser that has wiped the "chalkboard" of our sin record clean.

When you are at your lowest and you feel like you've broken God's heart, THAT is when you're strong.  Don't turn away from God in that moment, Christian!  Turn TOWARD Him!  You are strong in that moment, because no matter what you've done, you have been given VICTORY in Christ.  His Grace is enough because He's wiped the impossible stains of your life clean with His Own perfection.  We are the strongest when we're weak because it is only when we're weak that we realize we need His strength to save us.

Grace isn't fully appreciated until one is brought to the end of their rope.  When we stumble in sin as believers, that is when we truly understand the scope of what has been forgiven.  That's when we internalize the price Christ had to pay, when we comprehend the depth of God's Love, and the magnificence of the One Who has given us redemption.

Therefore, in our weakness, we look to God's Grace to be our strength, because no matter how weak we are, we have been made STRONG through God's forgiveness of sins on the cross.  There is nothing anyone can do to pluck us out of Yeshua's hand.  There is nothing anyone can do to pluck us out of the Father's hand (John 10:28-29).  THIS is why Paul was able to rejoice in his suffering!

The strength of God's grace is everlasting.  No matter what we do, He will not lose us.  Our sins are forever gone.  And while we continue to sin in the flesh, the blood of Christ covers us until our salvation in Him is complete (Philippians 1:6) and we're glorified at the Resurrection.  Paul's strength in his weakness was not simply asking Christ to give him strength, but to realize he already HAD Christ's strength, His righteousness, His perfection, His favor with God the Father.  And never was he more aware of that fact than when he had sinned -- and yet remained a favored child of God!

The "strength" in this verse is not physical strength, emotional strength, or even a spiritual strength, but rather a knowing that no matter how hard we stumble, fall, or fail Him, His Grace is enough.  Our strength is knowing that our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).  That we are in the palm of His hand.  That He'll never let us go.  That our sin record has been completely expunged - even if we commit another sin.

I believe this truth is why God allowed Paul to have this "thorn".  Thank God for Romans 7!    Through Paul, we realize that as Christians, we still sin and we'll still struggle with it, but God's grace is enough - and His strength is made perfect in our weakness.  For when I'm weak, I see how glorious, how marvelous, how beautiful, and how incomprehensible our God is to forgive -- and forget -- a lifetime of rebellion through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When we sin, that is when we should praise Him the most, not run from Him in shame!  At the cross, He took our entire lives upon His shoulders so that we could find our strength in weakness through His wondrous Grace.  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. ~~Ephesians 6:10

~~Becka

Yeshua Still Amazes Me

Lately, I've been thinking about my own mortality.  Morbid, I know.  I often wonder what my little world would be like -- without me.  How would my family go on?  How would my friends cope?  Certainly the world would continue on as it always has.  My life is but a small influence on this big earth.  However, I'd like to think I've reached a few people for Christ -- at least five that I know of for sure -- my children.

I often wonder what my funeral would be like, and how I'd be remembered.  I should hope the one thing that comes to mind, the one thing people cannot avoid, the one thing that would be shining throughout every corridor of my existence -- would be my love for YESHUA.  I should hope my friends and family would be happy and joyous in knowing I was HOME with Him FOREVER.

But thoughts like these bring the curious mind to play out scenarios of what my family might go through in the event of my passing.  And it truly brought home the idea that we as Christians are the light of the world.

In my home, I am the only one that listens to Christian music.  Occasionally my daughters might, but not all the time.  Usually, I am singing and dancing along to my music while I do chores or cook dinner.  This light would be gone.

I'm usually loud in general, and my laugh (I've been told since my tender years) is quite ear-splitting.  In high school, folks used to refer to me as, "You know, Rebecca -- the one with the laugh?"  In my absence, the house would be quiet.

In my family, I am the only one who cares to go to church on a semi-regular basis.  I attend a small group and sometimes show at extra-curricular activities.  The only reason there is no dust on our Bibles is because I read them.  Occasionally my kids do as well, but not nearly as often.  The constant reinforcement of Scripture, therefore, would be lost.

I love to post on Facebook and this blog and a few Christian forums, edifying the brethren and sharing things the Spirit has taught me.  That soul food from our Lord would be dried up.

I am not saying all this as a downer, these are merely the thoughts I've had.  If God decided to take me, His light in me would go out in my corner of the world.  There are other lights -- my kids obviously, and my sister's family too.  If any one of them passed away, a similar story would be told.  We are all lights for Yeshua, we just vary from glory to glory.

Some of us prefer a quiet faith, while others prefer to live out loud.

But I have noticed in my own life that I am a "live out loud" Christian, while those in the closest proximity to me are of a quiet, if not dormant (or semi-dormant) faith.  I used to have like-minded believers around me in my youth, but for years after I married, I went through a long drought of the things of God.  Two years ago, I decided to do something about it and retired from writing romance for His glory.  I also decided it was time for me to find a church on my own.  I refocused my life to point to GOD FIRST, and then everything else to follow.  I worked hard to purge every vain idol hidden in my heart.

In short, my relationship with God is now the most precious one I have.  He is my Best Friend, my King, my All-in-all.  I would hope HE is what my friends and family would remember about me the most.  That I was gung-ho and unrepentant about what I believed.  That I jumped in head-first to the things of God and never looked back.  That this world no longer held any worth or entertainment for me, that all I lived for was YESHUA.

I want the memory of my very life to be a shadow of the Gospel.  I want to glorify my Lord even in my death.  I want people to be inspired, to stand in awe and say, "Now there was a woman who loved God!"

Not for my own sake, mind.  I will no longer be here.  I will be enjoying my eternity with the One my soul loves.  No, for HIS sake.  For the glory of HIS name.  That is the cry of my heart.

If I had my druthers, the Gospel itself would be preached at my funeral.  It would be required that awesome stories be told.  I would like praise songs to be sung, worship to be had, and thanks to be given, that Yeshua died to save me, that I'm safe and sound in His Loving arms.  I would hope the focus would be on HIM and not on ME.  That my life so reflected HIM that every story told would reveal Him.

After all these years, Yeshua still amazes me.  He's never left me.  He's been with me since I asked Him into my heart as a thirteen-year-old girl.  Folks I know that used to be on fire for Him have now cooled, but I haven't.  I've kept myself close to His robes.  I don't want to fall away.  I don't want to ever face this world without my God walking before me, without my God at my right hand (Psalm 16:8).  I know how I am.  I know how I spin out of control at times.  I need my Anchor.  I need my Rock.  I need the One Who's always been with me.  I need the One Who knows me better than anyone else on the planet.  I need the One who gives me peace, joy, and strength.

Perhaps I've been able to keep my childlike qualities.  I know for a fact that I've returned to my First Love.  He's rekindled within me a Love that burns brighter than ever before.  And He's given me a means to share Him with the world.

If He takes me out sooner rather than later, then I want the world to know I have NOTHING apart from Him -- He created me, the air I breathe, the food I eat, the family I have...  He's given me the home I live in, the cars I drive, the friends I have, the church I've longed for, and above all -- Eternal Life.  To me, God is THE MOST beautiful, glorious, wonderful, spectacular, generous, and loving Being in existence.

He STILL amazes me!  He will continue to amaze me for an eternity.  Hallelujah.  \O/



~~Becka