Be ready to fight your battles.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. (I Tim 6:12)
How do I get my prayers answered? That seems to be the enigma within the body of Christ. On one hand, we have the promises of God to bless us but on the other, we have the circumstances talking to us and dictating the opposite. It is a fight, no doubt about it. Many of you may be hitting that wall but there is hope. Let's take a close look about the good fight of faith.
First, we are not taking the fight to Satan. Jesus has defeated him at the cross and he has been stripped naked. Our responsibility is to dress for success. Put on the whole armor and be ready to fight. Many times, certain battles just takes speaking the word--It is written and we add a verse to it. Victory comes as a result and we are rejoicing. The next time, another test comes, we use the same technique and nothing happens. We keep speaking the word until we turn blue in the face and nothing happens. Do we give up at this point and make a stupid excuse to justify this defeat?
At this point, we bring this matter to the Lord as a mystery. We pray in tongues over this and listen to his voice. The word of God tells us that when we pray these mysteries to him, we should pray for the interpretation. (I Cor 14:2,13) I guarantee you that when we do this, he will bring an answer to us sooner or later. Brethren, another area to consider is our minds. Renewing the mind is so important to us. Thoughts, feeling and emotions is where Satan manipulates us if we let him. We need to control our thoughts in the heat of battle.
We need to, constantly, fill our minds with the word so that worry nor anxiety does not rob us of our promises with God. We need to allow an image of victory that comes from our inner being (Spirit) and let it override our minds. When the soul (mind) and spirit work together, it is a powerful force.
The enemy wants our mind but we are not going to let him have it because it belongs to Christ. Bind the enemy and put him under your feet.
The next battlefield is in court. Does not the word says enter into his courts with praise? This is the highest place in which you can take your battles. Many precious brethren have had petitions that have not been answered for 20 or 30 yrs. The buck stops at the court but we have to have a proper protocol in which to approach God and argue our case. If you want to learn more about approaching the courts of God, check out my last blog post.(1) It is, truly, an eye opener. Since I applied this technique, I have seen some breakthroughs taking effect and it can happen to you, too. God bless.
(1) http://wordandgrace.blogspot.com/2017/05/how-well-do-you-know-him.html
Your life is your garden
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Gen 2:17)
When you read the accounts of Gen, you find an interesting analogy-YOUR LIFE IS YOUR GARDEN! Life is full of decisions that we must make and the results can affect your family,life,etc. Some decisions are hard to make. Sometimes, our emotions can get in the way.
The question to ask ourselves is this-Why would God not allow Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Why would God, not, allow Adam to eat something good? We know that God was protecting Adam from evil! He had all the knowledge he needed and it was all good. He and Eve did not have to know evil!
One thing to consider-This tree wasn't evil in itself. God was showing a principle thing-Tithing! He said to Adam, you can eat of all the trees, but this one belongs to me. God's intention was for Adam to sow the seeds that were inside the fruit of the tree, so that he can abound in provision. The same concept was with Joshua. After Joshua and the Jews crossed the Red sea, God put them to the test. In their first battle, God wanted the silver and the gold for himself. They were not to touch it, but you know what happened with Achan? Achan took of the forbidden items and paid a high price-He and his family were stoned!!
God's intention was to bless his people. He wanted the first fruits from battle, that is why this was so serious before the eyes of God. It is amazing how people downplay giving especially when it comes to the tithe. The tithe is a lot more important than you think. It cost Adam to lose the presence of God and his paradise. It affected God's people in battle when Achan disobeyed God and took of the silver and gold.
When you disobey God in the tithes and offerings, it could affect your family and even cost loss of lives as in the case of Achan. It can affect your generations for years to come. That is why Satan works overtime to deceive the people of God and cause them to lose their blessing. Concerning the tree of good and evil, let's talk about the forbidden tree being good. There are reasonings in our mind on what is good. In fact, people who are not believers, do some good and help others in need.
For example, let's look at Alcoholics Anonymous. It is a good organization and has done some good works but their patients are trained to say---I am an alcoholic. They credit a higher being and go on from there. Yes, there has been some wonderful results but that is not enough. Jesus can break the chains of alcoholism and make you lose your craving for it forever. When God delivers you, you are a new creation.
Doing good works is good but if it is being done from a carnal mindset and not centered in Jesus, it is in vain. That is "eating" from the tree of good and evil. My righteousness or yours is not enough to gain heaven. God's word says that our righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isa 64:6) We need a righteousness above ours. Through Salvation in Christ and his finished work at Calvary, he gives us his righteousness in Christ Jesus-Praise God!
Finally, lets talk about the tree of life! Did you know as a believer that you have access to the tree of life? You may ask-Where? In your tongue! (Prov 15:4) If you are bound and defeated, you can speak life to your situation! If you are in financial lack and are a tither/giver, you can speak life to your finances! If you are sick and in pain, you can speak healing to your body! Take advantage of your privileges in Christ. Start eating of the tree of life. Remember, your life is your garden!
Dear Lord, Thank you for speaking to me. I receive your word for today.Help me to be sensitive to your word and give as you direct me. Help me to die to human reasoning and not eat of the tree of good and evil. Today, I will eat of the tree of life. I declare the mind of Christ in my life. I say that he has become wisdom for me. I walk in victory because my tongue is a tree of life. In Jesus name--Amen!
Scripture reading-Joshua 7
