“So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.” 2 Kings 13:21

This is one of most amazing stories in the Bible and proves the omnipotence of almighty God.

The Israelites were in the process of burying a dead man and they saw a band of enemy raiders nearby so they quickly tossed the corpse into the tomb of Elisha, the prophet of God.

The corpse touched the dead bones of Elisha and the man was resurrected from the dead.

Can you imagine the impact this must have had on both the dead man and the Israelites involved? They witnessed the glory of God at work to perform a mighty miracle. Nothing is impossible with God.

This miracle and the other signs and wonders performed by Jesus do not live in the history of the Bible. They are alive today!

God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He is at work this very moment raising people from the dead, healing and restoring the sick and injured and dispatching His angels around the world to do His work.

This is the God you worship and He desires to show you His glory and power. You must walk by faith trusting Him for all your needs and make Him the center of your life. Then you will see new life come out of death!

Jesus told Martha, the sister of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life and the one who believes in Me will live even though they die”. Then Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead back to life.

If you are a believer, this resurrected life is in you at this very moment. Ask God to empower you with His life today!

He is alive and ready to perform miracles in your life!

 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

As I was thinking about this, the disciples of Jesus came to my mind. These men were ordinary people with no real idea or understanding about God. They were powerless and weak. They heard Jesus teach and were confused and bewildered about what He said.

Look at how these twelve men shook up the world and built the foundation for Jesus’s church. They were transformed from people just like you and me into powerful spiritual beings.

At the moment you make a decision for Jesus, He begins an awesome and precious work to change you into a new creature in Christ Jesus. This “laser like” work is precise and penetrates all of your heart, soul, and mind. The purpose of this is to prepare you to do the work of God.

God demonstrates His glory and power in your life to prove to you that without Him you can do nothing. He teaches you to draw upon His attributes and not rely on self.

You learn how to wait on God and develop the ability to be patient and thankful.

God takes away your worldly thinking patterns and bad habits in the process of His purification. You learn to think like Him.

He teaches you humility and takes away your pride as you understand all your accomplishments are created through Him.

God engineers trials and tribulations in your life to cause you to have faith in Him and depend on Him for all your needs. He perfects your faith by showing you where you need to “let go” in life and trust Him.

He teaches you through His indwelling Spirit and you learn how to be linked to Him at all times.

God works through all of your life experiences to teach you about Himself and how to walk with Him.

This transformation into a spiritual being is for the purpose of becoming a light in the world touching those people sitting in darkness.

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Matthew 15:8-9

The title for this blog came from God yesterday on a walk in the hills near my home.

The definition of a cult is “a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object”. It tends to be a misplaced or excessive admiration for a person or thing.

What has happened today is Christianity has replaced the person of Jesus with religion. It is not about becoming a follower of Jesus but following a system of requirements mandated by organized religion.

You must join a church, participate in the activities of a church, and give a percentage of your money to the church. You must do work for God through your church or some other organization. If you don’t comply, then you are an outsider.

You must adhere to the commandments in the Bible which is impossible without the function of the Holy Spirit which has been diminished or rejected by most of our churches. You are taught to follow a system of rules not the person of Jesus.

The priorities of organized religion are concerned with building large congregations, generating money, and creating religious programs. These tend to be their primary goals and the justification for their existence.

They whitewash the truths of God to serve their purposes. For example, they explain that our culture today is different from ancient times so you have to interpret spiritual truth to fit modern times. They don’t understand that God never changes and His precepts are everlasting.

Rarely, do you hear the truth explained about the character of God concerning judgment and retribution. God blesses and He curses and no one is immune. You are accountable to God for all your actions!

The purpose of a church is to function as a filling station. You go to church to worship God through music and His Word and to be filled with His Spirit and Truth. Then God wants you to go out into the world and be a light for Him. You don’t help God by hiding in a church.

The concept of walking with Jesus is to be “sent out” to spread the gospel to others. You go wherever life takes you—the workplace, to school, raising a family, or to your club for a workout.

The objective for all believers is to have a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus and follow the leading of His Spirit.

 

 

“Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Matthew 13:11-13

Jesus is responding to His disciples concerning the question of why He speaks in parables. Jesus tells the disciples that He has given them the ability to know the mysteries of God but the crowd of Israelites following Him do not see or understand. They are blind and deaf to the truths of God so Jesus explains spiritual things in a simple way using parables.

You have to open up your heart and mind to God so you can understand His ways. This is accomplished by yoking yourself to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the person of Jesus in the form of a Spirit and He lives in all believers. He will make known to you the truths and insights of God. This is how you become one with God.

The promise from God in the quote cited above is about the person who has accepted Jesus and is yielding to His Spirit residing within Him. This person will be given more by God and will enjoy an abundance of His goodness.

Conversely, the person who rejects Jesus will have everything taken away from him.

You can only learn spiritual truth from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit searches all things and reveals His wisdom to you. He is your teacher and He equips you with the mind of Christ to understand spiritual truths and how to walk with God?

For example, you can read the Bible but without the Holy Spirit you will never understand the significance of God’s Word. You have to compare spiritual to spiritual to see through the eyes of God.

The spiritual man judges all things but can be rightly judged by no one. This is because he is one with God and is yielding to the Spirit of God. He can discern good from evil, make godly decisions, and walk in the path of God.

He lives with God!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

I was driving to the hardware store yesterday and God told me to write a narrative about how to keep it simple for a believer. So here goes!

First of all, you have to recognize God is alive and desires to intervene in your life. He is not living in “never never land” and He wants to have a personal relationship with you.

God has a personality and feelings just like you and me. He is also a very jealous God and does not want to share you with other gods.

God is perfect and there is no evil in Him. He is a holy and pure God and will not get entangled in your sin. This is where the problem starts in understanding God.

You need a mediator to be able to approach God. This is why God sent His Son to the earth. Jesus died for sin and His blood is the only way you can find forgiveness and restoration to God. The blood cleanses you and allows you to draw close to God.

The foundation for walking with God is to make a decision for Jesus and to turn away from all other gods. This is the starting point and then you must then go before God every day and ask for His forgiveness. This is kind of simple but the road ahead gets sticky because Jesus will question the seriousness of your decision to follow Him by making you look at your life and your priorities.

When you make a decision for Jesus this changes the dynamics of how you think and react to your needs. You must now live by faith in God and trust Him for all your needs. You change from self sufficiency to trusting God for help in all circumstances. You trust God to bring what you cannot see into the reality of your life.

Jesus desires for you to have a pure heart and to live a life pleasing to Him. This doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and enjoy life. He is not looking for you to become a religious zealot or give up the healthy desires of your life. You don’t have to try to become a spiritual guru or impress people with your faith and knowledge of the Bible.

The problem you face is the condition of your inner being. You were born with a spirit of rebellion against God and with a desire to live for self. So it is impossible to be a light for God and live with godly values unless “something” causes to change your inner being.

The “something” is the Spirit of God living inside you. He wants to teach you about Himself and create a new person within you. This is a lifelong process and only requires your openness to Him. He will do all the work to make you acceptable to God. You just need a willing heart.

The practical steps are to commit each day to God, pray for forgiveness, ask God for wisdom and protection, and be open to His voice. Spend a little time reading a good devotional or a chapter in the Bible.

This will put a smile on the face of Jesus!

 

 

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” 1 John 5:4

How can you overcome the evils and perils of the world? You live in a country filled with greed, lust, sexual immorality, worship of idols, and the rejection of the Son of God.

This promise in 1 John applies to all who have been born of God. You can overcome the world and achieve victory through your faith in Jesus Christ. He is your only hope in this world. He offers you a hope that can be found nowhere else.

You are born of God when you have experienced the water, the blood, and the Spirit. You cannot overcome the world without all three.

The water baptizes you and creates new life, the blood covers your sins, and the Spirit gives you the ability to walk with God and lead a life pleasing to Him.

The life of God starts inside you and requires your genuine commitment to Jesus. You have to give up your natural life and become a new creature filled with His Spirit.

When you are born of God, you live by faith not by sight. You turn to Jesus for your needs. You reject the ways of the world and seek the help of God. Your dependence is on God and His promises.

Jesus prayed that you would be one with Him as He was one with His Father. This is how you overcome the world. You are linked to God through His Spirit and you allow Him to live through you.

You give up the right to yourself for the life of Jesus! This will lead to an abundant life and the fulfillment of the desires of your heart!

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6

You find God where you are at this very moment! God wants to live with you through the reality of your daily life and all your challenges. He wants to be present in every detail of your life.

You can’t find God through an intellectual process or by participating in organized religion. You can hear thousands of sermons, read books, and attend bible studies but this won’t teach you spiritual truth. These things might be helpful but they won’t bring the living God into your life.

God’s thoughts and ways are not based on human reasoning so you need to have His mind at work in you to understand Him. The Spirit of God will teach you His truths if you seek Him out.

Spiritual truth will come to you through living out your life with God. You apply the Word of God moment by moment into your walk with God. This is how you understand God and His ways.

There is a spiritual answer for every detail in your life so the question becomes are you seeking the wisdom from God and applying His counsel into your life. Do you take time outs during the day and ask Jesus “What should I do about this?”

You have to ask yourself if you are satisfied with a superficial relationship with God or do you want to know Him intimately? You will only impress God when you walk by faith and look to Him for your every need!

You have to “walk the talk” to get to know Jesus! He judges you by the sincerity of your heart and your openness to follow Him where He wants to take you.

He is above all things, through all things, and in all things! He wants to reign in your life today and just needs an invitation from you!

So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27

This lawyer confronted Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responded by asking the lawyer “What is written in the law”?

The lawyer then answered with the quote above and Jesus told him he had replied correctly.

The real issue becomes how do you love the Lord? You are now living under the new covenant and are not bound by laws, works, or sacrifices. You come to Jesus by faith and depend on Him for all your needs.

You love Jesus for who He is and for sacrificing His life so you can have the gift of eternal life and be restored to God. This precious gift begins with your decision to choose Him and lasts forever.

You can’t really understand the love of God until you meet Him personally. This is not about making a hollow vow to worship Him or accept Him as your Savior.

When you open up your heart unconditionally to God and tell Him that you want to live for Him, you will meet the living God and your life will never be the same.

You will love God with all your heart because you know He has power and dominion over all things and no one can compare to Him. You understand in the deepest part of your heart that He is your only hope in life and you desire to please Him.

You love and respect God because He can shake the earth, turn the sun into darkness, and perform mighty signs and wonders. He is the beginning and the end of all life!

Simply put, to love God is to be obedient to His voice. God wants your undivided devotion and loyalty to Him above all else.

This will lead to a perfect bond of love in your relationship with Him and give you the ability to love others with an authentic and pure love that comes from His Spirit living inside you.

You express your love for God when you seek Him out through prayer and His Word and make Him the priority of your life.

God’s love will never fail you!

 

 

 

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly place. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:12-13

Rarely do I share very much about myself or my walk with God because I believe the Word of God changes lives and not personal testimony. However, this blog deals with spiritual warfare and I believe my own experiences are important in contributing to this message.

About 35 years ago, God called me to be an intercessor. I had no idea at the time what I was getting into but it seemed kind of ominous and a little scary.

An intercessor is called by God to bring down demonic strongholds over people, institutions, churches, or even a specific area of our world.

God works through my Spirit to intercede and help break these bondages and set people free. This is very difficult and agonizing work. At times, the burden seems way too much to handle.

In our world today, there is an invisible spiritual war taking place between Jesus and Satan. Jesus is at work to bring all things under His authority and Satan wants to discredit Jesus and remove Him from our society.

This war involves you because Satan wants to steal, kill, and destroy while Jesus wants to preserve you.

Satan has a team of demons (also called impure spirits) roaming around the world. The demons all have titles and functions (like spirits of anger, lust, alcoholism, greed, revenge, mental sickness, and many other variations of evil) and they want to live in you and ruin your life.

The demons can speak to you and place evil thoughts in your mind. They cannot read your thoughts but they can identify your weaknesses and enter into your body.

They are liars and deceivers but they are very shrewd and will give you the impression it is okay to pursue something that is evil and not of God.

If you allow an evil desire or thought to dwell in your heart, then sin is conceived and you have opened the door to a demon. They will come to live in you and this will create a demonic bondage over you.

You can also be attacked by people who have allowed Satan to dwell in them. These can be vicious and mean spirited actions. Pray for the blood of Jesus to cover you and ask Him for a mighty shield of protection.

Satan has been given authority to operate here on the earth and your only defense is to put on the whole armor of God. This will allow you to withstand the attacks of the enemy.

Your weapons are prayer, the Word of God, faith in the promises of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit living inside you.

Remember, Satan has no power over you unless you open the door. He who is within you is greater than he who is in the world!

“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 2 Peter 3:8

You wake up in the morning to face a new day and function on a timeline of 24/7 and 365 days in a year. God has no timeline. He lives in the past, in today, and in the future. God is omniscient which gives Him the ability to see ahead. He knows every detail of your life from birth to death.

This verse in 2 Peter relates to the second coming of Jesus to redeem His people. God keeps all His promises. The earth you are standing on is preserved by the Word of God and will stand until the Word brings an end to the earth. Whatever God promises, He is faithful to fulfill.

God is not slack or ambiguous about His promises but is long suffering toward all His people. He desires that all should come to repentance and receive the gift of eternal life. He wants to give you an abundant life and bless the desires of your heart.

You have no idea what today will bring but God has already lived today before you woke up and knows all the challenges facing you. This is why it is so important to commit each day to God and seek Him out for wisdom and protection.

You can’t control God or the events in the world but you can live with God through His Word and Spirit. He keeps His Word!