Confronting your enemies!

                                  

                
 Picture courtesy of Image courtesy of anankkml / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. ( I Sam 17:36)

Whether you know it or not, you have a Lion and a Bear waiting for you. In a battle, it is important to identify and name your opponent. The Bible calls Jesus, the Lion of Judah and as children of God, we are Lion cubs, growing and getting groomed for battle. When I think of a Lion, it reminds me of the cowardly lion of the Wizard of Oz.
The poor sap had a problem with fear but at the end, a medal was given to the Lion by the Wizard of Oz to instill in him courage. We have more than that--The Bible says we are more than a conqueror. We have no reason to fear. So, what is the Lion in our lives? Satan! He comes in as a roaring lion, but guess what? He has been defeated and has no teeth. (Ps 3:7)
When we take our place in Christ, there is a roar. It reminds me of the Three Stooges when two of them masqueraded as a fake bull. When the real bull came in view, they left their costume and headed for the hills. The same with us as we take our place in Christ. All fear and unbelief is gone with our roar!
What is the Bear?

                                   IDENTIFYING THE BEAR! 

              Let's identify the Bear. The interesting part of I Sam 17:36 is the word slew. Slew means to kill. A wild beast like the Lion or Bear that is wounded can be dangerous. That is why many of you have seen your situation go from bad to worse. You have to slay those wild beasts.
In fact, as you read I Samuel 17:34-36, you find that David was no wimp. He was a tough guy who grabbed those beasts by the beard and beat them to death. We have to do the same with our spiritual enemies. Show them no mercy. 
Let's take a look at the bear. The bear represents finances. Two things I have to state my case. First, in the stock market, there is what is known as the Bear Market. The Bear Market is when it is tough to make a profit and the stocks are unsteady. Have you ever heard of the saying---That is a bear of a problem?
The reason why many have problems in the financial realm is that it is a Bear that is facing them. We need to be like David---Confront the problem and nip it at the bud. The first place we need to start is in our minds. We need to see ourselves victorious. We need to renew our minds. 
Our debts and finances are talking to us day and nights. Many are staying awake thinking how are we going to pay this bill! We need to talk back to our debts and financial oppression. 
In fact, we should gather our bills together on our table and converse with them on a daily basis. 
Learn to laugh at your problems. You are in covenant with God and if you are tithing and giving offerings, your enemies are God's enemies. In fact, he's laughing at them right now in heaven. (PS 2) Have a good laugh. Its good for you and see yourself in victory.

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To all....

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                First of all, thanks to all who have supported and read this blog on a frequent basis. As a special thank you, I would like to offer my eBook for free as my way to thank you for your support. 
Many reading this may be struggling with great financial needs. I am here to tell you that there is help coming your way. God has tremendous biblical principles that will help you get your debts paid and help you to walk in abundance.
                      Personally, I have experienced this in my life. I have sown in the past and have reaped tremendous financial and other rewards. Learn how to use God's principles in my book so that you can be blessed and walk in victory. Also, look us up at our facebook page--How to pray for finances. In it, you will find some financial tips, videos and further instructions on prayer itself. Also, feel free to invite others as well. So do yourself a favor and send me an email. You can email me at 
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A look at Biblical finances!

Money!, a photo by yomanimus on Flickr.

Special thanks for yomanimus for allowing his photo to be on my website!


MANY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST IS SUFFERING FROM FINANCIAL LACK !

As a minister, I have seen many Christians go thru financial lack. Lack of finances has strained relationships. They have broken up marriages. Many have winded up with health problems because of the lack of finances. I am burdened for these precious saints, and I wish that I could write a check to cover all of these needs, but I can't. I can, nonetheless, provide some thought on how to deal with testings in this area.

JESUS SUFFERED FROM FINANCIAL LACK!

Our Lord Jesus, believe it or not, suffered from financial lack. He was asked if he paid taxes. (Matt 17:24) The good thing about Jesus is that he knew where to get the money to pay his taxes. He told Peter to pull up the first fish, and there, he would find the money to, not only, pay his taxes but Peter's. (Matt 17:25-27)
Yes, there are times when the word says that men will give to our bosom if we give to the Lord. I agree with that and have seen it happen in my own life, but sometimes, we have to go get it. The word says the principal thing is Wisdom.(Prov 4:7) Wisdom is the first thing we should seek God for in prayer. Sometimes, our circumstances can, so, overwhelm us. When this happens, we need to take a deep breath and be calm. The next step is to start to seek the Lord for wisdom.

WHY THE TITHE?

Many Christians fail to see the importance of tithing. The Tithe is a commandment of the Lord. Many a Christian justify themselves and make excuses. They overlook this very important commandment. In Malachi, chapter 3, we see how God demands this act of obedience from his people.
I will take this a little further! Upon reading Malachi 3, you will find God saying that his people have robbed him in TITHES AND OFFERINGS! Not only is the tithe important, but the offering too. When you read the accounts in the Old Testament, God told his people not to come to him empty-handed! Let's establish one thing-Tithing is mandatory, but the amount of the offering is left up to the Believer. (II Cor 9:7)
Why give? So, that there may be money available to supply the needs of the church. Not only is the church responsible to support their Pastor and leadership, but to help others in need. Reading the book of Acts, we saw how the church had its needs supplied because the people gave liberally. Tradition says that the church was poor, but God's word says the opposite.
I know of a Pastor of a big church, who not only, helps his flock financially but has helped employ people of his own church creating businesses. The true church is supposed to be the answer, not the problem. Too many bad apples has misappropriated the churches funds and have given Christianity a bad name. Thank God that we still have honest and upright ministers that try to help others and make a difference.

STOP BLAMING GOD!

This may come as a shock to you, but stop blaming GOD!! He is not to blame for your problems. Who's to blame? First, ourselves. Sometimes, we confuse our feelings for God and wind up making the wrong decisions in life. For example, we see an ad promising a quick pathway to wealth. Then, we see how that company pressure us by saying that this is a limited time offer. We pray about it and charge the card without really hearing from God. Months have passed by. What happened to that promise of wealth? You have been duped and out of money!
The word of God says that all of God's promises are Yea and Amen. (II Cor. 1:20) God has given us precious, and wonderful promises to get us through the testings of life. Bear in mind Malachi 3, when he says that he will open the windows of heaven! They are ours, but we have to learn how to possess them. Are you possessing God's promises? God willing, we will do some more studying on this important subject.

Don't let money blind you!

"Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day." (Matt 28:11-15)

              These verses have a lot to say about money. There is a saying--"Money talks!" Money can blind you. Money can pervert righteous judgement. Money in itself is not evil, but it can be a tool to either do right or wrong. 

        As you read these verses, the guards that were watching the tomb of Jesus saw a miracle. They saw the stone where Jesus was lying moved by a  angel. Mind you, this stone was no light thing. It was heavy and secured, plus it was guarded. I can imagine when this angel came down, white and shining in countenance, took the stone. He, then, unsecured the rock and moved it aside. A sight like that would have anyone shaking in their boots.

           The word says that they became as dead men. They were, probably, on the floor hoping that this angel would do them no harm. As soon as it was over, the word says that some, not all, came to the high priest with that report. What happened to the ones that did not come to the high priest? Did some refuse the money? Did some stand their ground and joined the disciples in Acts 1? It is not clear what happened to the others, but I like to think that down the road, they might have joined the disciples and preached Jesus!

              This shows a tragedy. Tragedy because the men of the watch missed an opportunity to change their lives, families and community. They allowed the love of money to pervert their judgement. A soldier in those days were not paid much, so it is easy to understand their need of money. Another factor that might have affected their judgement was the religious leaders political connections. Those connections might have stirred the fear of man inside them and could have influenced their decision. The fear of man was bigger than the fear of God!

              The religious people, also, lost a great opportunity. They could have repented and accepted this miracle. It would have changed their lives, but they hung on to their religious traditions and beliefs. The control of the people and their political connections were more important than following Jesus.

               In life, money can change our judgement. I have seen it time after time, when a Pastor would preach against sin. Offerings and tithes would go down and the Pastor would change its message because his/her pocketbook was affected. Another example is a Christian who wants to change jobs because of not making enough. God may have a plan to use him/her, but because of not seeing the big picture, they change jobs and miss out on God's best. 

                 In this day, let's not allow the lure of money to blind us from God's will. Yes, God does not want us to have lack and he understands our need for money, but he will test us. He will say--"Stay in this job, trust me for provision for I have a plan for you!" Trusting God in the finances can be a bear of a challenge, but consider King David. Before he got promoted, there was a bear that he had to kill. (I Samuel 17:34-36) It is interesting that a Bear market in Wall street is one is in which it is, almost, impossible to make money. I am convinced that a lack of money and financial oppression is a Bear Spirit. We need to put out that Bear spirit in order to advance to the next level in our walk with Christ! Let us learn to trust God for our provision and not look at the world as our source.

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