The sword is mentioned numerous times in Scripture as the primary weapon with which to fight the enemy. Today, we also use a sword, though not a physical one, to fight our enemy. Our sword is made up of the Word of God, and our ability to use it comes from the Spirit of God. Without them, we are powerless in a spiritual battle.
When you are looking for something, you are on a mission. You won't stop, you won't rest, until you find it. It becomes your obsession. This is the attitude we need when it comes to the things of God. Not the prevalent one of spiritual "browsing." Our spirit naturally thirsts for Him, and without Him we won't survive.
Great change cannot happen without vision. Many times we focus on outward vision (accomplishments, recognition, success), but in God’s kingdom, outward vision can’t be accomplished without inward vision. It's easy to get distracted by things on the outside. True change though, comes through sanctification and the Word
Man became separated from God when he sinned in the garden. Adam and Eve were no longer able to fellowship with Him, their creator. They messed up, and the price was high. There was only one way for God to fellowship with His creation again, and his name is Jesus.
Society tells us that money, power, and things are what speak of success, and that without them we aren't truly living. Truth is, all you need is faith. Faith gives you purpose, and compassion is its fuel.
Victory can come down to one word: Maybe. Maybe comes when we are deep in a trial or in the hottest place of the fire. It's a belief that says, "I will press on no matter what, because, yes, it's possible that God won't show up, but it's also possible that just maybe, He will."
Praise is something that we do in times of victory and rejoicing, but often we forget how powerful and useful praise is as a tool, or a weapon. Judah himself was born in the midst of his own mothers adversity, and in the face of their own adversity, Judah became Israel's most powerful weapon against it's enemies.
God is an excellent God. He doesn't appreciate half hearted efforts, they don't get His attention, and they don't honor his majesty. Now, excellence is not perfection, but it is the pursuit of the best that we can do. It's our response to His majesty because He deserves our best!
A church may be able to function with only one spiritual hand, but it will be unable to minister as it should. Special speaker Gordon Winslow brings spiritual healing to LifeChurch and leads us to a new level of faith and the supernatural.
The local church is God's plan to save the world. The only way the church can do that is if it is in alignment with God and His vision. People are attracted by unity, and the impact of a church organization that is unified has the potential to be exponential.
Sometimes God will reach out and touch you, and then step back to see what you will do. Once He calls you to something, He's not going to keep yelling after you, He'll just step back and see what you're going to do. He placed the ball in your court. It's your turn to make a move.
What were we created for? The answer is found in Genesis. God came down from heaven and created man, but God didn't want man to be alone so He created woman. The same happened again when Jesus came down to earth and created His bride, the church. Our purpose is the same as Adam and Eve - be fruitful and multiply.
Everybody has scars. We fall off our bikes, we run into stuff, we antagonize our siblings...the list goes on and on. But, some scars go deeper than the skin, all the way to our heart. The neat thing though, is that all scars tell a story. There was one man, whose scars tell a story of redemption, love, and healing. His name is Jesus.
The call of God on a life brings with it a sense of purpose, a mission, a knowledge of something bigger than oneself. A called person will make a huge impact on the world, maybe even change history. The key though, is not letting your own ambition drive you, but to let that call pull you.
When God first made man, he gave him a set of rules and laws to live by, and these laws were sufficient, for a time. Just before the birth of Christ, these laws no longer seemed to work, not because they were bad, but because man's heart had changed. Jesus came to establish a new covenant through His blood. When He left, He promised a Comforter that would come soon after Him.
Change is that one thing that is necessary to growth. You can't have one thing without the other, and for the church to grow, there is a need for it to change it's methods in order to reach our changing world.
When times of change approach you in your life, you have to stop and ask yourself, "Is good enough, good enough?" In order to move forward into the destiny God has for you, it's time to shake off some old attitudes, to break old habits, and to step forward into a life of faith.
When a person is born again that’s been a sinner, transformation happens, but their mind still has to be renewed. They are a new creature in Christ, but they still have that old mindset and way of thinking that has been shaped by today's culture. Sanctification is that renewing of the mind. It's an ongoing process that takes us from where we were to where we are going.
God has a way of putting you in situations that you pray for, but not in the way you were expecting. Sometimes he waits until you're desperate, wholly seeking, and ready to hand your all to him. When that happens, we no longer limit God by our requests, and He is able to go beyond what we thought possible.
The whole of life can be geographically mapped in two places. The first being the secular culture, and the second being the end result of God's plan for your life. These two places are on either side of a great chasm and there is only one thing that can span them - the church of the Living God.
We are all natural worriers. We like to try to see down the road and figure out our future. Doing so just causes us to fret. Stop worrying. Let tomorrow be, it has its own worries. Not only that, all we are given is today, and today is in the hands of the Lord.
There are literally thousands of fears in the world: fear of the dark, fear of water, fear of spiders, and…the fear of being ridiculed or "looking foolish." Faith is kind of like looking foolish. To others your actions may seem strange, out of place, or crazy, but they aren't hearing what you and God hear. It doesn't matter what your faith looks like to others because it isn't for them, it's only for God.
We all make promises…and we all break promises. God doesn't, His word is proof. Sometimes it feels like there's a disconnect though, His Word was then and this is now. How do we receive our promise?
So many things in this life are vying for our attention that it's easy to take our eyes off the mark. Hold onto that vision that is heaven, hold onto that place and anchor it in your mind. When you're heaven minded, God can work wonders through you like you've never imagined.
We, all of us, cycle through life in different seasons, just the way God intended. The devil though, likes to mess with those seasons. He likes to keep you in the dry dusty summer, or maybe in the cold, barren winter. He wants to keep you from your harvest. Realize you fight this spiritual enemy. You have the authority. Tell the devil to take his hands off your season.
The word "covenant" is an old word, one that has become irrelevant in modern society. It's an unfortunate thing, because "covenant" is what the whole Bible is about. Revelation about the meaning of covenant helps us understand both our responsibilities and expectations, as well as our privileges in God.
"Up." It's a pretty important word in the English language. It takes up almost a quarter page in the dictionary. "Up." It's a pretty important word to God, too. His will is that we Rise Up, Look Up, and Stand Up. The Devil wants us to Stay Down, Look Down, and Stand Down. But God is telling us to change our perspective from what we see, to what He sees. He's calling us to be what He needs us to be.
Up until the birth of Jesus, there was only one type of law. One that demanded justice. His birth marked the end of that demand. Jesus was mercy personified, and His sacrifice began a plan of true salvation, instead of a postponed one.
Which way are you headed? Do you know? Are you sure? Jesus said He was the Way. Isaiah tells of a Messiah that will establish a highway to Zion full of gladness and joy. It won't be an easy road, though, or easy to find. You'll have to look for it and constantly focus on your destination.
God's favorite people to use in mighty ways aren't the wise, the noble, or the wealthy. No. His favorites are the sinners, the broken, and the beaten down. Why? Because at the very end of things, no one could ever say it was made by man. Everything is for His glory.
