No More Identity Crisis

The Bible reveals that Jesus has offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the redemption of humanity (Revelation 1:5-6). He suffered and died as mans substitute (Acts 2:29-36), paid for man’s crimes by satisfying justice (Romans 3:21-26), was made alive and justified in spirit (1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 3:18), raised from the dead (Acts 13:33-34) and has taken His blood to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High making mans redemption both available and eternal (Hebrew 1:3, 9:11-12, 10:10-14).

Although redemption has been made available for all humanity through Jesus Christ, it only becomes a reality to those who confess the Lordship of Christ and receive Him as Savior. (Romans 10:9-10) With that said, I have found that there are few in the church today who really know, possesses and enjoy their God given rights and privileges that redemption has made possible. To fully understand and embrace what the Father has worked through Christ for believers takes revelation faith. In other words, we can read the Bible continuously, but until one "receives with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your soul," (James 1:21) it becomes a vague proposition at best. It becomes difficult to believe that we truly are what and who God says we are in Christ. God's Word must become a part of our very being in the same way that a child within the womb is a part of a woman's body.

The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul tells us, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Although our faith increases through God's Word, our faith is measured by our knowledge of our place and our rights as God’s children as well as our ability to stand in the presences of God without guilt, condemnation, shame or inferiority. When we truly know these things we will no longer deal with fear, doubt or unbelief and we will know that through faith in Christ we have as good a standing before the Father as Jesus had in His earth walk. This also means that the struggle of trying to acquire more faith is settled and we will live on this earth in the same manner that Jesus did. If we know who we are in Christ, then in a sense, there is no struggle for faith because we do not need faith for that which we know.

I have a covered patio that is attached to the rear of my house. A recent storm with damaging winds damaged a portion of the roof. I do not need faith to believe the patio is mine. I can see it and touch it. It is on my property and it is attached to my house. However, I may need to exercise faith for the finances to replace the roof  So you see, believers do not need to exercise faith for the things that they know to be true. How about if you went to a store and bought a television. You paid cash for it and have the receipt as proof of purchase. Who owns the television, you or the store? Of course you do. You paid the price required which met the conditions to make a legal business transaction thereby taking ownership of the television. Not only that, but because the television is yours, you can say or do whatever you want concerning the television. Now, what if the CEO of the company that manufactured the television came to your house and demand ownership of the TV. Who is the rightful owner? Of course you are. What if the CEO took you to court and his attorney pleaded a case of ownership to a judge. You hire an attorney and your attorney shows the judge the receipt, the proof of purchase. Who will the judge say is the owner of the television? Of course you are.

In the same manner the believer belongs to Christ! He owns us! We are His! (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) This also means that we are who and what He says we are! The following are a few things to meditate on concerning who and what we are in the mind of the God our Father...

• We have peace with God (Romans 5:1)
• We have God's wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30)
• We are one with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17)
• We are New Creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• We are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• We have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3)
• We have been made alive in Christ and sit with Him in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-10)
• We have God working in us to do His will (Philippians 2:13)
• We are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
• We are holy and blameless in His sight (Colossians 1:22)
• We are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10)
• We enjoy rest in Christ (Hebrews 4:3)
• We are His own special people (1 Peter 2:9)
• We are partakers of exceeding great and precious promises and the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)
• We have eternal life (1 John 2:25)
• We are kings and priests (Revelation 1:4-6)

Although these passages of scripture are but a few that reveal who and what we are in the mind of God, take some time and meditate on these until you receive a revelation of these facts.
"So Christ has made us free. Now make sure that you stay free" (Galatians 5:1)….  

Need More Energy

Years ago I read a story about a world renown zoo that purchased a great brown bear to become one of its exhibits. The zoo had purchased the bear from a circus where the bear had been confined to a small metal cage. Hour after hour and day after day the bear would pace back and forth from one end of the cage to the other. The zoo had a bear compound consisting of acres of lush, green grass, trees and a pool of fresh drinking water. The bear would be fed three times a day and would have nothing to do but to enjoy its new home. The day came when the bear arrived at the zoo and the zoo-keepers took him to his new habitat. When they opened the cage to release the bear to their surprise the bear continued to walk back and forth within the confines of the small cage. The zoo-keeper tried various things to coax the bear from the cage but it would not leave. Finally, the only solution that was left was to put some kerosene soaked rages on a pole light them and stick the fiery pole through the bars of the cage. This intimidated the bear to jump out of the cage and into his new home. The bear looked around but to the zoo-keepers amazement, the bear began to pace back and forth as though he was still in the small metal cage. Suddenly it dawned on the attendants that although the bear was released from its "metal prison" it still remained in a "mental prison."

Like the bear in this story, many Christians find themselves in a very similar dilemma. They have become accustomed to accepting thoughts of failure and defeat in various areas of their life. They are convinced that that things will never change. This type of thinking has crippled many born again, spirit-filled children of God who truly love the Lord. When they face some of the difficulties of life, they find themselves settling for far less than what God has for them. There are generally two reasons why believers entertain this type of thinking. First, they accepted the opinions of man (father, mother, siblings or others) who have spoken harsh condescending words over them for most of their life and or secondly, they have listened to sermons that provide believers with a steady diet of "you are nothing more than a sinner saved by grace who is weak and is incapable of ever pleasing God." They have been inundated with so many rules and regulations that they are held captive to this mental prison. However, the truth of the matter is, there is a powerful attribute of God that He has made available to all of His children that has freed them from this mental prison, it's called grace.

Philippians reveals grace this way, "For it is God Himself whose power creates within you the desire to do His gracious will and also brings about the accomplishment of the desire." (Philippians 2:13 Wey) I like to define it this way. Simply put, grace is the free unearned, unmerited favor of God that gives the believer the ability and desire to do God's will. God's grace is free, it is a gift, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8) As we grow to understand how this free gift from God works in and through our lives, we will find ourselves living in the freedom that the Father has provided through Jesus Christ.

Grace can be seen from two sides. First, it is the free unearned, unmerited favor of God for the believer. The truth is, we deserve nothing good, however, God working through Christ  has provided His amazing grace for all believers. His grace provides, forgiveness, healing, provision, peace, hope, eternal life; the list goes on and on. The other side of grace is, grace gives the believer the ability and desire to do God's will. So not only is God's grace upon the believer for his/her benefit, but it also works through the believer accomplishing God's will for the benefit of others. We need to keep this balance in mind so that we do not take the grace of God to an extra-biblical level. Many preachers in their efforts to present the message of grace to free the enormous number of believers held in bondage to rules, regulations, defeat and failure find themselves teaching grace from an unbiblical extreme. Unfortunately, we have done this very thing in the church in the past with such things as the discipleship movement and the faith teaching (to name a few). Just because something sounds good or sounds right doesn't mean that it is. This is why it is so important for believers to search the scriptures themselves to see if these things are so.

God's grace is available to all of His children. We receive grace through faith, "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace..." (Romans 4:16) not through anything that we can do, "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work." (Romans 11:6) We simply reach out and receive it by faith and thank God for His free gift of grace. So if you need God's favor in your life, if you need God's ability in your life and if you need a desire to do God's will, just receive His grace. "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)
      

Did You Say Something?

The words that we speak are very powerful. They are the building blocks on which every person builds their life upon. The Proverbs speak numerous times of the constructive and destructive power that our words have, "You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth." (Proverbs 6:2) and "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21) and "A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth..." (Proverbs 12:14) No matter how one speaks, they become a product of their words. Jesus said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)

Many believer struggle with life problems because they speak the wrong things not realizing that the very thing(s) they struggle with are the consequences of the words they speak. Think about it from this perspective. In the first chapter of Genesis we see that "God said...and so it was." Notice that every time that "God said" creation took shape, it came to be. Without words, creation would have never happened. The writer of Hebrew says, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Hebrews 11:3) Again, creation manifested as God spoke, but take note to something else in this verse that is very important for believers to see, "By faith we understand..." Faith is a catalyst that brings us to understand the power of our spoken words as well as the power released when speaking God's Word.

Every time we speak God's Word to our individual circumstances and situations, our faith increases, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17) and His Word becomes a reality in our lives. James tells us to "...receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21) Once God's Word is implanted into our spirit, that is, it becomes a part of us, it will produce results. "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) Jesus said it this way, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) God's Word produces life.

One of the greatest examples that reveals the power of words is found in Mark 5:25-34. In short, this is the story of a woman with a persistent flow of blood for twelve years that had become worse even though she had seen many physicians concerning this condition. (This is not a teaching against doctors or medicine, but the power of the words that we speak) As the woman pressed through the crowd to get to Jesus, "she kept saying, if I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health." (Mark 5:28 AMP) The woman had a goal. She hoped to be healed, if I only touch His garments. I am sure that her mind was saying things that totally contradicted what she was speaking. However, she turned human reasoning and hope into faith by confessing, I shall be restored to health. When she touched Jesus' clothes, her faith made a demand on the covenant of God as a daughter of Abraham releasing the anointing that was upon Jesus and her words became a living reality, "Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction." (Mark 5:29) 

The writer of Hebrews tells us, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) The woman's faith gave substance to the thing that she hoped for even though all the evidence in the natural was saying something different. Notice also that the woman was not denying or confessing that her condition did not exist, because that would not be true, it did exist. When a believer speaks God's Word, we also are not to deny that a condition does not exist, but we are to deny the conditions right to exist because we have been redeemed through our faith in Jesus Christ. We are the children of God. Sin and Satan have been defeated and we have been given the Name of Jesus to enforce what He did through His dead, burial and resurrection. Paul says this, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11) and "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32) Jesus said it this way, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)   

When circumstances or situations arise, we must not make the mistake of calling the things that are contrary to God's Word, the way they are. For instance, if sickness has manifested in your body, although the sickness is real, it is contrary to God's Word, "...by His stripes you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24) By agreeing with the sickness, our words are giving it the right to be in our body. But when we speak God's Word to the sickness, "by His stripes I am healed" we take authority over it because we are calling those things that are not as though the were. (Romans 4:17) We are agreeing that God's Word is true and the sickness has no right to be in our body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. This may not be a one time process for you. Sometimes our faith is not at the level to deal with the situation at hand. However, do not give up or give in. You must continue to speak God's Word until His Word manifests. My challenge to you is to make it a daily practice of meditating on God's Word and speaking it to any problem that you may encounter. Declare His Word to be true until it is implanted in you and you walk in the victory that you have through Jesus Christ our Lord.     

How Deep is Your Love

Although there are many ways to express love, basically, there are only two kinds of love and one or the other will dominate every person. One kind of love is a natural or human kind of love in which every person has to some extent. Natural love though can speak highly of someone one moment and than the next moment completely turn around a spew words of hatred towards the same person. However, when Jesus came to earth He brought with Him a new type of love, a love that emanates from the Spirit which is the God kind of love. The very essence and most potent characteristic of God is love. The apostle John tells us, "...for love is of God..." and "...for God is love..." (1 John 4:7-8)

One of the most exciting events that takes place when a person confesses with their mouth the Lordship of Jesus Christ and receives Him as Savior, is their dead spirit is reborn from above and they become completely new, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) To expand what this means, the Holy Spirit through the apostle John says, "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." (John 1:16) The Holy Spirit speaking through the apostle Paul tells us, "For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power." (Colossians 2:9-10 TLB) The apostle John also states, "...as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

The moment that a person experienced New Birth they immediately receive the fullness of Christ. They are immediately filled with God. They immediately have the character of Christ. Now we may not know this or we may not take advantage of what this means, but it is fact! Another characteristic of this transformation into a New Creation is that our recreated spirit is also immediately filled with the God kind of Love, "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5) Every born again person has within them the ability to love as God loves because His love dwells within us. This new kind of love becomes our nature because we are "partakers of the divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4) We also see that our recreated spirit has been infused with nine wonderful attributes that are called "The fruit of the spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23) in which the first one is love, the God kind of love.     

When believers let go of natural love and let the God kind of love dominate their life, it makes them the master of life in the same way Jesus was as He walked the earth as the Son of man. For instance, Jesus never lost His temper which led to sin. His great love made Him master over every situation. When a believer losses his/her temper, the natural man (old man) takes over. The person, situation or circumstance that caused the believer to lose their temper now becomes the master. However, if we let the God kind of love flow from us, then we become impervious to these things and stand in victory over them as master in the same manner that Jesus stood as Master over them.

How powerful is the God kind of love? Look at the last day of Jesus ministry as the Son of man. He was beaten, mocked, spit upon and nail to the cross and yet those who did this did not realize that the moment they took Him captive, He actually became Master which eventually led Him to become the conquering King of kings and Lord of lords. "For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16) "But God demonstrates His own LOVE toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

It takes faith to rest in and depend on the God kind of love to dominate our life. Remember, we have the fullness of Christ in us. God is not limiting us to operate in this manner. The only limits that are upon the believer, are the ones that the believer chooses to imposes upon himself. To operate in the God kind of love is a choice that each believer must make daily. In doing so we fulfill the commandment that Jesus has given to all believers, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  (John 13:34-35) So let us rise above selfish natural love, exercise the God kind of love so that the world will see the Father's tremendous surrounding, abounding love for them operating through us.   

Shout a Little Bit Louder Now

Every season of each year brings various sporting events, whether, baseball, football, soccer, hockey, tennis and so on. Events like these are considered team or individual sports. That mean that there are two different teams or individuals competing against one another. It also means that there are spectators that are cheering for their favorite team or individual. When the contest is close or especially when those who are competing score points, the spectators most likely jump up and shout. For the most part, there is nothing wrong with having a favorite team or person that you want to see win the contest. But as Christians, do we tend to shout more for achievements of people who have no ability to save, heal or deliver another person from the bondage of sin and Satan than we do for the Lord and Savior of all men? I believe the best way to answer this question would be to take some Sunday's and visit several church congregations to observe the peoples response or actions during worship.

Praise and worship is a powerful way for believers to express their humble adoration as well as their jubilant admiration for all that God is and what He has done through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the champion of all champions. No one in the history of mankind has ever gained such an incredible victory or as it were, scored more points than He, and yet most Christians approach to praise and worship is just singing nice songs. We disguise our lack of passionate, energetic, heartfelt praise and worship by saying "we are showing our reverence toward Him" and yet without hesitation, will clap and shout aloud at a sporting event. Case in point. I recently attended what was called "Grandparents Day" at a Christian School. There were about 300 in attendance. The students sang numerous songs with lyrics about Gods magnificence, splendor and glory. Song of the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ and yet the atmosphere was quiet and reserved. Even at the end of each song, with the exception of myself, there was no shouts of "amen, praise the Lord, hallelujah" or any such thing.

One of the greatest accounts recorded in the Bible that reveals uninhibited praise and worship is found in 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chronicles 13, "And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet." (2 Samuel 6:13-15) "Then David and all Israel played music before God with all their might, with singing, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cymbals, and with trumpets." (1 Chronicles 13:8) Try to imagine what was taking place. Israel, led by David the king were transporting the Ark of the Covenant which included the Mercy Seat, to the City of David. To Israel, this sacred piece of furniture represented the presence of God.

Notice, "David danced before the Ark with all his might while all Israel played music before God with all their might." This should strike a chord in our heart. Again, the Ark represented the presence of God not the indwelling, empowering presence of God that comes to all those who confess with their mouth the Lordship of Jesus Christ, receive Him as their Savior and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Think about it. Jesus had not yet become mans substitute for sin, therefore not one person at this time was born again and filled with the Spirit, yet the leader of Israel, King David thought nothing of dancing before Israel and the Ark with all of His might while Israel played music with all their might.

Some may say that it was a cultural thing, but I contend it was a God thing. They were celebrating "The God Who Sees" (Genesis 16:13), "Almighty God" (Genesis 17:1), "The Lord Who Provides" (Genesis 22:14), "The God Who Heals" (Exodus 15:26), "The Lord Who Sanctifies" (Exodus 31:13), "The God Who Keeps His Word and Makes it Good" (Numbers 23:19), "The Lord Who is Peace" (Judges 6:24), "The Almighty Who is Excellent in Power, in Judgment, and Abundant Justice, Who does not afflict" (Job 37:23), "The Lord the Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1), "The Lord Who is Good" (Psalm 34:8) "The Lord Who Delivers" (Psalm 34:17), "The Lord Who is Merciful and Gracious" (Psalm 103:8), "The Lord Who is full of Compassion" (Psalm 145:8).

Of course if we do not know God's true nature and character, as revealed in the above scriptures which are just a few examples of many, then it becomes difficult to let go and worship Him as Israel did. However, let's keep in mind, "For I am the LORD, I do not change..." (Malachi 3:6), "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8), "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17) God has not, nor will He ever change. In fact He reveals His will, nature, character, purposes and plan through Jesus Christ more than the Law or the Prophets or any one else (Hebrews 1:1-4).

There are numerous Bible references revealing the presence and power of God released when His people truly praise and worship Him. The picture painted in Revelation 4 - 5 of worship in heaven before God is a tremendous sneak preview of what the saints will be doing for eternity. So, if we are going to shout at the achievement of men, then it is time to shed our fears and inhibitions and as the children of God, lift up our voices and shout even louder to Him Who sits on the Throne and unto the Lamb. Someone shout, "PRAISE THE LORD."          

Gladiators With a Cause

A Gladiator was a man during the time of ancient Rome who was trained to fight with various weapons  for two purposes. One purpose was to fight against other men or wild animals in an arena and the other purpose was for defending or opposing a cause. On May 5, 2000 an epic historical drama film entitled "Gladiator" was released in the United States. In short, the film portrays a fictional character, a Roman general who was loyal to the emperor, who is betrayed when the emperor's ambitious son who murders his father the emperor, seizes the throne, has the generals family murdered and attempts to have the general killed also. However, the general escapes certain death, is taken into custody by slave traders, sold and forced to fight in the Colosseum in Rome as a gladiator Through all of this, the general had a cause, to make right all that had been stolen from Him.

The Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul gives us some great insight in the letter written to the church at Ephesus concerning the dress of a Roman soldier whose dress was also worn by gladiators. Paul uses the natural to reveal an application for the believer to use in the spiritual, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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 places." (Ephesians 6:10-12)

The believer is not to rely on his own abilities but must fully rely upon Gods ability in order to withstand the schemes of the devil, "...that we should not trust in ourselves but in God..." (2 Corinthians 1:9). Paul reminds us that the wrestling that is set against believers is not in the natural realm but in the spiritual. According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the word wrestle means "to sway."  This is very key to understanding what Paul is presenting, because most believers are under the influence that they are to war or fight against the devil. In fact, to sway sheds much light on the believers position as he/she withstands the schemes of the devil. In other words, if we let him, the devil will come against us and try to sway us away from faith and into fear, doubt and unbelief. However, look what Paul continues to tells us,  "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 6:13) Believers are to stand their ground in faith. When we do, the devil cannot sway us from trusting God nor cause us to question the integrity of God's Word.

When dealing with the forces of darkness believers must keep in mind what Jesus did through His death, burial and resurrection, "The hostile princes and rulers He (Jesus) shook off from Himself, and boldly displayed them as His conquests, when by the Cross He triumphed over them." (Colossians 2:15) and, "Since then the children referred to are all alike sharers in perishable human nature, He (Jesus) Himself also, in the same way, took on Him a share of it, in order that through death He might render powerless him who had authority over death, that is, the Devil." (Hebrews 2:14) Jesus has conquered the devil and his gang. He has rendered them powerless. Yes, we are in a battle. Yes, we are to put on the armor of God, but it is against principalities and powers that Jesus has defeated through His death, burial and resurrection, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." (Ephesians 1:22-23) The church is the Body of Christ and the principalities and powers are under the believers feet! So the believers focus is not fighting with a defeated enemy, but focus is to be on building and strengthening our relationship with Christ as we stand in victory over the adversary. The believers position when standing against the schemes of the devil is one of victory, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57) The believer should see himself as one who stands triumphant in Christ, "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ..." (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Paul tells us what the real fight believes are to engaged, "Fight the good fight of faith..." (1 Timothy 6:12) When believers understand what the real battle is and begin to appropriate what Jesus did between the cross and being seated at the right hand of Majesty on high, we will understand that we wrestle the forces of darkness by our faith in God's Word preventing them from trying to sway us from faith into living in doubt, fear and unbelief. Why is this a high priority on the devils list of lies and deception? He want to keep us in the the realm where we exercise sense knowledge faith, that is, relying on our senses and not revelation faith, that is, the kind of faith that is spiritual that believes even when there is no physical evidence. Sense knowledge faith relies solely upon what our senses can understand which is the thing hat has kept most believers (including most church leaders) believing things that is contrary to the Word of God. This is the very thing that the apostle Thomas did, even after living and traveling with Jesus for three years. He could only believe what his sense could understand. (John 20:24-25)

Now concerning the armor of God, Paul continues, "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:14-17) Every piece of armor is important and has its place, but notice that Paul use the words "above all" in describing the last three pieces of armor. First, the "shield of faith." Faith is the channel that quenches, extinguishes, suppresses ALL the schemes of the devil. A gladiator would use his shield to suppress his opponents aggression toward him. Faith not only pleases God (Hebrews 11:6) but it also releases the power of God for the believer to do the impossible. (Matthew 17:20)

Next, Paul tells us to "take the helmet of salvation." Naturally, the helmet would protect a gladiators head from death dealing blows, but think of the helmet of salvation for the believer from this perspective, "That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting." (Ephesians 4:14) Paul also tells us, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) Believers must keep renewing their minds with the Word of God. (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23). The Word of God will separate false doctrine from sound doctrine as well as expose arguments and renegade thoughts that are contrary to the truth.

Finally, Paul tells us to take, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." This was the gladiators only offense against his opponent. The believer is to use the Word of God, to uphold and enforce everything that Jesus has accomplished through His death, burial and resurrection. "For the Word of God is living and powerful..." (Hebrews 4:12) Jesus knew this and shows us the standard for striking down the schemes of the Devil. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4 Jesus is tempted for forty days and night by the devil. Jesus did not war against the devil, He simply stood His ground and use the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. In the three temptations recorded, Jesus put the devil in his place by saying, "It is written." After the forty days of being tempted of the devil were completed, the Bible records, "Then the devil departed from Him..." (Matthew 4:11)

If you are struggling with any issue that the devil is trying to hold you in bondage to, you can be free from every one of them and walk in the liberty that Jesus has purchased for you. Be a gladiator with a cause. No longer let the devil cheat you out of your inheritance in Christ. Begin to exercise your faith, stand your ground and "hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23) God's Word never fails!!!

Can You Validate My Parking

From the time that the Lord first called Abram (Genesis 12:1-4) at age seventy five and for the next twenty five years the Lord continued to affirm and reaffirm him. (Genesis 13:14-18, 15:1-5, 17:1-27, 22:11-18) To affirm someone is to, assert strongly and publicly by declaring as a fact, one's support for another by validating, upholding and defending them. Everyone needs affirmation. Even Jesus Christ the Son of God was affirmed, "When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17) Jesus was affirmed by His Father at the launch of His ministry on earth as the Son of Man and "We declare to you glad tidings, that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: You are My Son, today I have begotten You." (Acts 13:32-33) He was affirmed again by the Father at the fulfilling of His ministry on earth when He was resurrected from the dead.

Many in the church today struggle with their identity and affirmation. I myself also struggled with the same because my natural father passed away when I was young and I did not become a believer until twelve years later. However, at a conference in 2002 the Holy Spirit spoke to me to go forward and receive a father's affirmation from a well known man of God who was thirty years my senior and had been in the ministry for fifty years. When I received the father's affirmation I truly felt validated and from that point forward was able to receive my Heavenly Father's affirmation through His Word as to how He truly sees me and my identification with Him through Jesus Christ. It is truly liberating when you absolutely know with out wavering that, "...He made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 2:10)

So, why do believers struggle with who they truly are in Christ.  Look what happen to the Lord after the Father affirmed Him, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  and when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread....Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down..." (Matthew 4:1-3, 5) Satan attacked Jesus’ affirmation or identity by basically saying, "If you really are who you say you are then prove it." Jesus knew who He was so He did not have to prove it to Satan. 

Paul tells us, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. 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 places." (Ephesians 6:10-12) To define what a scheme of the devil is from a biblical perspective, it is a large-scale systematic plan or arrangement for attaining some particular object or putting a particular idea into effect in a devious way with the intent to do something illegal or wrong. Paul encourages the believer to be strong and courageous by totally relying on God’s strength, abilities and promises. Believers are not to rely on natural things for the warfare at hand, but God has spiritual armament to triumph over the devious, illegal systematic plans and ideas of the devil.

Paul reiterates this very thing in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 but reveals something else, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." Paul tells us again that God has spiritual armament for pulling down strongholds (fortress, or strong fortification) These strongholds are everything that opposes God's Word, such as philosophies, fantasies, reasoning and false doctrines. These things are all demonically influenced and if unchecked will attach themselves to our soul (mind, will and emotions) When a person thinks about something long enough or has repetitive thoughts, a belief system is  formed. These beliefs when held on to long enough become mental strongholds.Mental strongholds are powerful because they hide the truth and can shape a person into a false identity.

One of Satan’s primary schemes is to keep believers from knowing who they truly are in Christ which keeps them from the call of God in their life, thereby defeating their purpose. This scheme also causes believers to feel inadequate or inferior because it fills the mind with sin consciousness. The following are some examples of how this diabolical scheme can get place with believers....

• Being hurt in any relationship;
• Being abandoned by a parent, spouse, loved one or close friend; 
• Physical or mental abuse; 
• Hurt by another believer especially a church leader; 
• Receive(d) constant criticism; 
• Have faced a traumatic situation;
• Experience numerous failures; etc.

All of these can become thoughts that produce feelings of condemnation, guilt, shame, inferiority, or inadequacy. If you are dealing with any of the things mentioned above and they are producing these feelings, condemnation, guilt, shame, inferiority, or inadequacy, then know that God's Word has exceedingly abundant great news for you! Proverbs 4:22 tells us that God's Word is, "life and health (medicine) to all our flesh." So begin a daily time of reading and meditating on God's Word. Declare what God has done for you in Christ; How the Father see you in Christ; What the Holy Spirit through God's Word is doing in you; and what God can do through you by His Holy Spirit who is in you. When we come to truly know who we are in Christ we will have no problem accepting ourselves with all of our flaws, our strengths and weaknesses, our successes and failures without condemnation, guilt, shame or inferiority because through God's Word we will see that our heavenly Father truly loves us and is not ashamed to call us His children.