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You don't have to put up with the devil's oppression any longer. God has empowered you with the anointing to remove burdens, destroy yokes and to be an overcomer. The devil is a burden that can easily be driven away by exercising your God-given authority.
God has given you His Word and His Spirit as a defense against the devil's schemes. You've been clothed in the armor of God so "...that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). You have everything needed to defeat the devil whenever he shows up at your door. He will keep showing up because you possess something that he desperately wants-your God-given authority to rule and reign in the earth.
When God created Adam, he gave him dominion and authority over the earth (Genesis 1:26, AMP). However, when Adam rebelled against God, he turned his authority to rule over to the devil. Satan then had control over everything except the throne of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Since Satan contaminated the ground with sin, God couldn't destroy Adam and make another man from the dust of the earth. Aren't you thankful that He had plan? He came to the earth as a man. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, he defeated Satan and took back our authority to rule (Hebrews 2:9, 14), and we have been restored to our rightful place of authority.
Jesus has all power and authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:1
. Since we were raised with Him, we have all power and authority as well (Ephesians 2:4-7). Therefore, do not neglect your right to rule and reign in the earth. Every time the enemy tries to attack you, consider it an opportunity to exercise your power over him. You have the authority to declare what is lawful and unlawful in this earth, and to permit or to forbid things on the earth-even death (Matthew 16:18-19, AMP).
I challenge you to begin making demands in Jesus' name. John 14:13-14 says, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." The word ask means "demand." What you demand in Jesus' name (from the Word), He promises He will do. Understand that when you make a demand, you aren't demanding that God do things. Instead, you are demanding that the devil submit to the Word, to loose his hold and to stop his operations against you.
Faith is involved in exercising your spiritual authority. You must base your faith on what the Word says, not on circumstances. When circumstances do not change immediately, some people become discouraged and begin to speak doubt and unbelief. This only gives the devil dominion over their words, which ultimately defeat them. Don't hand over your authority to Satan through your words. Instead, break the power of the devil by walking in your authority!
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. Ephesians 1:19 (KJV)
We have power. I'm talking about the strength that progressively increases. I'm talking about that vigor, that dominion, and that manifested power that can be seen. This is all part of the inheritance of the saints.
You inherit His power, to us "...and what is the exceeding greatness of his power who believe..." This inheritance belongs to the believers. An inheritance is something you don't earn; it's something that was left to you.
When Jesus died on the cross, He left you some power, some anointing, some blessings, and some ability.
Jesus understood that when it was time for Him to leave the earth, believers would need weapons that were beyond their thinking ability, speaking ability, and beyond their natural education in order for God's will to be done. Without these, they were not going to be able to get the job done.
So, He said that he would not leave us comfortless. "I will send you another comforter, and he will teach you all things and remind you of what I said unto you." That comforter is the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost is active, energizing, and effective. He is the power, He is the might, and He performs where you can see it.
Verse 19 tells us this power works "according to the working of his mighty power." The word mighty here means force-His force, His ability. In other words, God wants us to increase in that which is in the Lord, increase in His dominion and in the manifested power of His force and His ability.
Jesus knew we would need power to defeat the enemy. He knew we would need power to perform miracles when necessary, to have supernatural strength when necessary, and to be able to flow and function when everything else was going contrary, so He prayed the Father to send us the Holy Ghost.
Walk in the inheritance that was given to you, it's the power of the Holy Ghost.
Scripture reading: John 14:16-18,26; I Peter 2:5,9
The mightiest of the saints were known for their humility. Though Moses had served as prince of Egypt and emancipator of the slaves, the Bible says, “Moses was…more humble than anyone else” (Num. 12:3 NIV)
The apostle Paul was saved through a personal visit from Jesus. He was carried into the heavens and had the ability to raise the dead. But when he introduced himself, he mentioned none of these. He simply said, “I, Paul, am God’s slave” (Titus 1:1 MSG).
John the Baptist was a blood relative of Jesus and the first evangelist in history, but he is remembered in Scripture as the one who resolved, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30 NKJV).
Max Lucado
Deep within you, God’s Spirit confirms with your spirit that you belong to him. Beneath the vitals of the heart, God’s Spirit whispers. “You are mine. I bought you and sealed you, and no one can take you.” The Spirit offers an inward, comforting witness.
He is like a father who walks hand in hand with his little child. The child knows he belongs to his daddy, his small hand happily lost in the large one. He feels no uncertainty about his papa’s love. But suddenly the father, moved by some impulse, swings his boy up into the air and into his arms and says, “I love you, Son.”…
Has the relationship between the two changed? On one level, no. The father is no more the father than he was before the expression of love. But on a deeper level, yes. The dad drenched, showered, and saturated the boy in love. God’s Spirit does the same with us…The Holy Spirit pours the love of God in our hearts.
Friday, August 08, 2008 11:01:45 PM
By DANICA COTO
A small snake has sparked a big debate in Barbados. Residents of the wealthy Caribbean nation have been heating up blogs and clogging radio airwaves to vent their anger at a U.S. scientist, who earlier this week announced his "discovery" of the world's smallest snake and named it "Leptotyphlops carlae," after his wife Carla.
"If he needs to blow his own trumpet ... well, fine," said 43-year-old Barbadian Charles Atkins. "But my mother, who was a simple housewife, she showed me the snake when I was a child."
One writer to the Barbados Free Press blog took an even tougher tone, questioning how someone could "discover" a snake long known to locals, who called it the thread snake.
"How dare this man come in here and name a snake after his wife?" said the writer who identified themselves as Margaret Knight.
The man she refers to is Penn State University evolutionary biologist S. Blair Hedges, whose research teams also have discovered the world's tiniest lizard in the Dominican Republic and the smallest frog in Cuba.
Hedges recently became the first to describe the snake -- which is so small it can curl up on a U.S. quarter -- when he published his observations and genetic test results in the journal "Zootaxa." Full-grown adults typically are less than 4 inches long.
Hedges told The Associated Press on Friday that he understands Barbadians' angry reactions, but under established scientific practice, the first person to do a full description of a species is said to have discovered it and gives it a scientific name.
He said most newly "discovered" species are already well known to locals, and the term refers to the work done in a laboratory to establish a genetic profile. In the study, he reported that two specimens he analyzed were found in 1889 and 1963.
"There are no false claims here, believe me," Hedges said.
Damon Corrie, president of the Caribbean Herpetological Society, acknowledged that Hedges is the first to scientifically examine and describe the snake, but the so-called discovery makes locals seem ignorant.
"It gives the impression that people here ... depend on people from abroad to come and show us things in our own backyard," Corrie said.
Karl Watson, a historian and ornithologist at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, said it's common for people to get excited over very tiny or very large animals.
"Probably people have overreacted. ... It's nationalism going a bit awry," Watson said.
Hedges agreed: "I think they're carrying it a bit too far."
"Snakes are really apolitical," he said.
Two things about prayer are truly amazing
1) God listens when we pray. "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (See Mk 11:24). You may not have much clout anywhere else, but when you pray God listens. (2) We seldom pray. We've the greatest privilege imaginable - access to the control center of the Universe -- yet we rarely use it. And our lack of prayer surprises God.
Through the prophet Ezekiel He lamented: "I sought for a man among them who would...stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one" (Eze 22:30 NKJV). Upon learning that Sodom and Gomorrah were going to be destroyed, Abraham didn't rush to warn the cities. No, he chose to "[remain] standing before the Lord" (Ge 18:22 NIV). When God said the golden calf warranted a nationwide death penalty for Israel, Moses interceded and saved them. One translation of Exodus 32:11 says, "Moses soothed the face of his God." An obscure priest by the name of Phinehas begged God not to send the plague, and it was checked. (See Ps 106:30 NIV).
You say "Why place such a premium on prayer?" Simple. Because when we work, we work. But when we pray, God works! Scripture attaches breathtaking power to prayer. "When two of you get together on anything...and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action" (Mt 18:19 TM). Does any other activity promise such results? Did God call us to preach without ceasing? Or have committee meetings without ceasing? No, but He did call us to "pray without ceasing."
Sometimes we in the church are accused of glossing over the fact that life can be hard. We sometimes tend to give the impression that all you need to do is give your heart to Jesus and all of your problems will be solved, all your bills will be paid, you will have success and prosperity and everything you touch will turn to gold. If you are a Christian, you will have a continual smile on your face and always be happy. We make all our baskets, we sink all our putts, we close all our deals.
Does that sound like your testimony? I know it doesn't sound like mine!
I think the problem is that we've confused joy with happiness. Happiness is dependent on happenings. Circumstances in your life dictate whether or not you are happy. Joy, on the other hand is a gift from God - a fruit of the Spirit that transcends whatever is happening in your life. Joy allows you to rise —even to soar— above difficult circumstances, challenges, and heartaches. Joy comes from knowing Who is in control and that He has a plan to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) We do not draw our strength from the great feeling we get when things go right; if we did, we would be powerless when hard times and adversity hit, and we would all be easy pickings for the devil. No, it is the joy of the Lord that is our strength!
Jesus wasn't happy about going to the cross. He prayed the night before "If there is any other way, let this cup pass from me..." But He did have joy in obedience. The writer to the Hebrews put it this way: "Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." There was joy for the Lord Jesus even in the pain and the agony of the cross because He knew the end result of His obedience and sacrifice would be the offer of salvation for you and me. Jesus chose to go through hell for us rather than to go to heaven without us.
In the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul talks about joy over and over again. Yet he wrote that letter to the church at Philippi while he was imprisoned in horrible conditions. How could he write about joy while imprisoned in a dark, cold, rat-infested Roman cell? It's because joy is not dependent on circumstances!
When you and I face tough times, we can draw on great reserves of joy that are rooted in our knowledge of the faithfulness of God. That's how Job was able to say in the midst of tragedy, heartache and great loss, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15, KJV) He knew God and He trusted God. That is how he could have "joy in unrelenting pain" (Job 6:10, NIV)
Job's friends made the mistake of misjudging Job. But what was worse, they misrepresented God. They presumed to speak for God in telling Job he needed to repent. Job's friends naturally assumed that since things weren't going great for Job, he wasn't living right, and God was punishing him for his sins. I'm afraid the spirit of Job's friends is still very much with us. We see and hear it just about every Sunday.
Now, don't get me wrong here— I've spent most of my life in church. Since I was a teenager I have either worked for a church or worked with organizations that worked with churches. I love the church. I love church people. But let's be honest—sometimes we have a problem keeping it real. We look at each other and smile real big and say, "I'm fine! We're all fine! How about you? Are you fine?" while inside we're hurting. The problem is if I admit to you that I am hurting or struggling, you might assume that I'm not spiritual enough. To avoid that I just pretend that everything is fine, when it really isn't.
If there is any place on earth that you should be able to keep it real, it ought to be the church. God's Word tells us to confess our faults to each other so we may be healed. (James 5:16) But you can't confess your faults if you are afraid to let me know that you have any! In the church we, like Job's friends, have bought into the notion that "spiritual" Christians don't have any problems.
But if you think about it for a minute I believe you will agree with me that the most spiritual people I have ever known were those who had walked through deep dark valleys of sorrow and heartache yet through it all their faith and trust never wavered. It wasn't the smiley-faced folks pretending to be perfect who touched my heart, it was those who I saw pressed on every side but not crushed, cast down but not destroyed. It was in those people that I saw that indeed the joy of the Lord is our strength. I want to be one of those people!
Lord, help me to draw my strength from your gift of joy and not from my feelings or present circumstances!
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