Setting the Hostages Free!

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. — 1 John 3:8

 

Multitudes of people in this world today are held hostage in their minds by the devil. They are incarcerated, locked up, and caged in their minds and emotions, held like slaves, prisoners, or detainees who are under arrest and live at the mercy of their conqueror.

 

In my lifetime, I have met many who fit that description. Although they might belong to Jesus and legally have every right to freedom, they remain in spiritual bondage, at least in some measure, in certain areas of their lives. Whether they persisted in a particular sin or failed to do something they should have done (such as read the Word, pray, or stay in fellowship with other saints), their minds were pried open wide enough for satan to find an open door and take that part of their mind captive.

 

Many years ago now, we began having small gatherings at our home. One evening during a time when we were singing to the Lord, a very disturbed young man was thrown to the kitchen floor. There he was squirming, foaming from the mouth, and shouting who knows what. No one, not one of us knew what to do! People looked to me and said, "Dianne do something". I sat on the young man's legs to try to stop him from banging and flaying on the tile floor. Pray, I said, Pray in tongues! Then I shouted, "Get out of him in the name of Jesus." All became silent; the young man stood up and thanked us for praying! A troubled young man bound in satan's camp was set free that night! Praise God.

 

I believe the mind is the primary area satan seeks to attack. He knows once he succeeds in planting a stronghold of deception in some area of a person's mind, from that lofty position he can then begin to control and manipulate that person. The Bible calls this kind of deception in the mind a "stronghold" (2 Corinthians 10:4). It is a "stronghold" because once a lie is planted in someone's head it is very hard to remove!

 

However, 1 John 3:8 says that Jesus came into the world "that he might destroy the works of the devil"! I want you to notice the word "destroy" in this verse meaning being delivered, released, or freed from difficulties, burdens, or needs.

 

Luke 3:16, when John the Baptist says, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire

 

In other words, 1 John 3:8 tells us that when Jesus Christ came into the world, He came to untie and unloose satan's binding power over us. His objective was to disentangle us from satan's control; to unfasten us from the demonic shackles that held us captive; to unravel the chains satan used to keep us in his grip; and to break and destroy all the fetters satan had used to hold us hostage. This is the purpose the Son of God, Jesus, came to earth. If it was Jesus' purpose, should it be ours also?

 

So many people in this world today are incarcerated, locked up, and caged in their minds and emotions. They are held like slaves or prisoners, living at the mercy of their conqueror. Therefore, it is time for you to learn how to recognize the devil's strategies in other people's minds and lives. Jesus came to set people free, and God wants to use you (us) to take the delivering power of the resurrection to them so the works of the devil can be destroyed in their lives.

 

The mind may be the devil's preferred battlefield, but you can make sure he loses every skirmish! Just determine today to be a willing vessel. God can use all of us to free spiritual hostages from demonic oppression!

 

Hellion or Holy Terror

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. 2 Corinthians 10:3

 

You have been delivered from satan's power through the victorious, redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Make sure you keep that awesome, mind-blowing truth in mind the next time you have to deal with the devil's attack on your life. Do not try to defeat a spiritual enemy with fleshly weapons and techniques because fleshly weapons are for fighting fleshly adversaries; they were never intended to defeat a spiritual foe. Spiritual adversaries must be fought with spiritual weapons!

 

I have walked this earth for umpteen years now.  I am going to take a liberty and say everything we do we do in the flesh.  We eat, we sleep, we think, we study--our lives are primarily lived in this earthly place.  This is why we are required to spend time thinking about how wonderful and lovely is our Father and lover of our soul, Jesus. Although we know we are spiritual beings, we still are very much earthly bound in most ways!  Yes?  So here it goes, an earthly comparison:

 

When I was a young girl living at home with my other siblings, we had these cousins.  Oh, we had some real great girl cousin friends. We loved to sleep over their house and play with all their toys.  Then we had these other cousins.  Our Memere called them this French word that sounds like "tuck son" (trouble makers!) 

 

Man, when they came around you wanted to hide all your favorite toys and then some!  You might even want to hide yourself. I can remember one specific time when we were visiting our girl cousins and the "tuck sons" stopped by.  They were little tornados running into furniture, biting, and breaking everything in sight.  We all ran into the girls bedroom and began hiding all we could find, closed the door, and hoped we were not called out to play with them. They had no respect for others nor did they respect other's possessions.  To this day, I often think of them and ask, "Lord, have you transformed the hellions into holy terrors ?" 

 

I do know that we live here in this world and we are so familiar with our surrounding we can almost perform our day blindfolded.  We are locked into our fleshly bodies and cannot get out of it — nor can we trade it for another!

 

If I could have, I would have traded positions with another when my cousins showed up. Having broken toys and emotional wounds seemed like a horrific prospect to us growing up.  Needless to say, had that happened, I would not be writing this today! 

 

You and I might feel like we are small and unimposing in the flesh.  Yet, we are spiritual giants filled with the powerful love of Christ that defeats every whim of the devil.

 

As I think of those boy cousins of mine from childhood, I think about how we are to be in the spirit.  We are to be filled to overflowing with the love of our Father God.  As we come into the presence of those things of the world, those things filled with evil, we become like God-tornadoes.  Those things will flee from us hiding in the corners of the earth, hoping we will never return.  The light we carry chases out all darkness.  We do not have to say a word, yet be ye filled with the Holy Ghost.

 

Do not judge yourself according to what you know or the appearance of your body.  Paul was but a wee bit of a man; yet he carried an authority and power that came from our heavenly Father.  That is the same message we have hidden within us!   Remember, our physical shape does not win a spiritual battle; it is our spiritual shape that counts.

 

Our greatest weapons do not lie in our mind, our talents, or our flesh, but in spiritual weapons that exist in the realm of God's Spirit.

 

In Acts 19, a group of exorcists, whom the Bible identifies as the seven sons of a man named Sceva, attempted to cast an evil spirit out of a demon-possessed man. When they commanded the evil spirit to come out of him, the spirit answered them: "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" (Acts 19:14-15).

 

Think of it! That evil spirit knew who Jesus was and who Paul was! Even though Paul lived in a small body that had been mercilessly beaten and abused, he was so powerful in the spiritual realm that hell knew his name! Perhaps the limitations of Paul's flesh turned out to be to his advantage! For where we are weak, He is strong! Because he could not lean on his flesh, he had to learn to function in the realm of the Spirit — and that is the reason the evil spirits knew who he was!

 

Yes, we all may live in fleshly bodies that have all kinds of limitations, but we can go forth with spiritual weapons to do warfare in the Spirit! Regardless of what you look like in the natural realm, you can be a holy terror to the devil in the spiritual realm. Yes, we may all have hellions in our lives; we may be or may have been one.  Now we are Holy Terrors in the sight of Satan.

  

Today's Proclamation:

 

I proclaim that regardless of what I look like in the natural realm, I am a menace to the devil in the spiritual realm. In that sphere, I am anointed and powerful, with the ability to pull down strongholds from peoples' lives and minds. I am so mighty in the Spirit that the devil and his forces flee when I lean unto God and resist them!  I proclaim today that although once a hellion, I am now a Holy Terror taking back the territory the Lord has given me and expanding my spiritual tent.

 

I declare this by faith in Jesus' name!

 

 

 

Gathering

Some people collect cars, elephants, stamps, coins, cook books!  There must be hundreds of hobbies that have to do with collecting "things."

 

I was at the beech with my 8 yr old niece.  She and I began collecting shells.  It was exciting to see her face glow as she began the collection.  Man, every shell she saw… she collected.  She loved them all! 

 

Now, of course, I was the mature collector of shells.  I have my favorites—oyster shells, conk shells and then the ultimate sea gathering, sharks teeth!  

 

One young, one old yet both collectors!  As young believers, we go about here there and every where collecting teachings on all topics and impartations and anointing of the Lord.  We just want it all.  Small, Large it does not matter.  We want it all. If it is of God we want it.  Reading, praying, writing might not come right away; but the thirst and hunger of the "things of God" is in us! Then as we become more mature we begin to pick and choose—search out for those things that the Spirit is leading to.  I pray that is true!  We begin to weed out those things we have collected.  We remove that is of man and not of God.  Good for us!

 

Oh yea, let us not rule this out:  We begin to get selective about the gifts the Lord has for us!  We like the BLING.  (Those gifts that are flashy and eye catching.)  To prophecy without relationship with God doesn't work—Words of Wisdom and Knowledge—Understanding can comes out of our relationship--knowing Him.  That is only when we spend that private time leaning, gleaning and obeying Him.  Well to some, that is not the BLING.  

 

No matter where we are or think we are—we are still His little children.  No matter how seasoned in Him we become we remain His children.  May we never get too big for our britches!

 

Today, I pray for myself and you too!  Lord, lead us in the ways of righteousness.  Holy Spirit, keep our minds and hearts steadfast on Christ Jesus.  Help us gather up all things of God our Father has for us!  Not only gather and collect but apply them to our very minds, bodies and souls.  The BLING and the not soooo BLING in Jesus name!

 

The Looking Glass

Colossians 2:13-15 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross. In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.

 

Sometimes life's circumstances can bring about memories from our past. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just memories. When those memories flood our conscience mind, we choose how to appropriate them. They can either help us to be an over comer (victor) or (victim) further solidifying our pain from the past that hinders us from the Father's loving freedom.

 

This time in Florida has been new and exciting for me. The Lord has guided my pen to produce a deeper freedom in my life. It is my desire that He would use these writings to entice you to a brighter and freeing presence.

 

Jmes 1:23 For if you just listen and don't obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance.

 

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

 

That is from an old nursery rhyme and was used by a wicked person who used a demonic being in the looking glass. This demon promoted judgment, hatred, and revenge! You can figure out the rest!

 

As I see it, the Word is our looking glass. Not to compare us to another, nor for judgment of others. The Word reflects who we are in Christ and how our character measures up to Christ Jesus. How are you measuring up lately?

 

Romans 7:4-6 So this is the point: The law no longer holds you in its power, because you died to its power when you died with Christ on the cross. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, you can produce good fruit, that is, good deeds for God. When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced sinful deeds, resulting in death. But now we have been released from the law, for we died with Christ, and we are no longer captive to its power. Now we can really serve God, not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way, by the Spirit.

 

Acts 4:11 For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, 'The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.'

 

So if the Lord gives you a memory, a scripture, or a dream, measure it up with the cornerstone, your measuring rod! Have the Holy Spirit flush out things not of Him and infuse us with those mysteries He has stored up with our welfare in mind!

 

Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ F2 before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.

 

Next time you look in the mirror, ask yourself, "Lord what do you see in me? How am I being a reflection of Your Son, my friend, and brother, Jesus?"

 

Simon Says

Simon Says was always fun to play making kids do silly things and trick them into doing an action that would make then feel dumb, have others laugh at them and ultimately cause them to loose.

 

I came to this definition of Simon Says by thinking how it made me feel. The teachers told us it was good to teach us listening skills and expand our attention span. Well maybe they were right; but it was negative reinforcement.  Negativity we can do without, especially at such vulnerable ages.

 

WOW! What a terrible game to play as a child.  Little did I know how debilitating that game could be on my siblings or other children in the schoolyard.  It took all these years to come to this conclusion.  How many other things did we all experience in our lifetime that caused us to be stymied and give the enemy a door into our emotions and spiritual man? 

 

Mister or Miss Simon was a total dictator without benevolence, mercy or grace!  Benevolence is, according to Wikipedia--characterizes the true goodness of the mind and spirit, the unbiased kindness to do good. It is the expression of agape love.  Just in case, you did not know.  The person playing Simon, was not Simon at all.  He or she was pretending to be… Simon.  The whole purpose for that person who took Simon's position, was to trip us up setting traps that we would be lured into.  Sometimes even the other players tag team the weaker players.  They would begin an action fooling others by making it appear they were complying and then we would be in that web of wrong.

 

As I grew into my teen-age years, I hung around with friends that encouraged me in doing wrong things. Yes, they were good kids too.  They came from God fearing homes, went to Catholic schools, looked good and smelt good too!  It seemed to me they had it all together, how could they be doing wrong?  Well they all were doing it—drinking, smoking, not to mention the sex and acquiring an alluring dress style.  Yap, even though I was uncomfortable in those mini skirts, I soon got over it.  Just like the drinking, I took pride in the fact I could out drink guys twice my weight.  Well it was the 70s, I would try anything once and if it felt good, I did it and did it again--great way to seer your conscience?  

 

Can you see where I am going?  That person taking on the role of Simon and satan have the same job.  Have you ever experienced a man or woman of God quoting scripture, teaching us the golden rule then out of their mouths and actions comes something not of the Spirit? They are looking good, sounding good, and even being good then some slanted teaching comes out or a slanted lifestyle is revealed.  Do we comply and agree?  How do we know if it is off track?  They did not say, do it. Be it. Take this as truth. 

 

But we have the secret weapon, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth.  If we stay in His Word (Jesus) and be willing for the Spirit to mold our character into the image and likeness of Christ on the outside as He has done for us on the inside, we are on our way. 

 

My advice to you is to never accept a person as quoting gospel truths.  Take in what you hear, what you see and what you experience and try it against the Holy Word of God! 

 

We do not live by bread alone, but our soul flourishes from every Word from the Mouth of God!  Therefore, I challenge you today to search out the scriptures and stand on His words alone.    Don't take any one's words as Gospel....  Listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead you to the truth for your life!

 

NO VICTIM HERE

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. — Colossians 2:15

 

We can count on the fact that there are unseen evil forces assigned to kill, steal, and destroy everything good in our lives. The Bible clearly teaches that these devilish forces band together to commit acts of aggression against the saints — and that includes you and me!

Paul wrote many verses about spiritual weapons, spiritual armor. He also told us how we are to resist these unseen, demonic forces. Yet it is very important that we approach this subject with the right attitude!

 

Because of Jesus' death on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead, the forces of hell are already defeated. However, even though they have been legally stripped of their authority and power, they continue to roam around this earth, carrying out evil deeds like criminals, bandits, hooligans, and thugs trying to convince us that they rule. And just like criminals who refuse to submit to the law, these evil spirits will continue to operate in this world until some believer stands for who he is and uses his God- given authority to enforce their defeat!

The TRUTH is: These demonic forces are legally stripped of their authority and are defeated! We are not puny, struggling believers who are somehow trying to learn how to cope with the devil's attacks against us. We are not merely trying to learn how to scrape by or survive. Jesus' death and resurrection gave us the legal authority to keep Satan under our feet, so we must always make sure we approach spiritual warfare as victors and not victims.

 

Shew is a very tiny mouse like yet very aggressive mammals. Tiny foxes spoil the vine? Yes? Remember that Jesus has already accomplished the victory for us on the cross? Yes but it was the POWER of His resurrection that allows us to take possession! Right in plain sight, how bold and confident can we be in Jesus? Bold enough to lead people to the Lord, confident enough to know when we lay hands on the sick they are recovered!

Think about the night when Jesus took his last breath. There was an earthquake, lightening, probably winds and rains, and dead rooming the streets! Woo. The victory we have in Jesus was no quiet affair. Jesus boldly, confidently, and loudly exposed and displayed this now-defunct foe to Heaven's hosts. Make no mistake! When Jesus "made a shew of them openly," it was quite a spectacular show!

 

So let us "triumph" over the schemes of satan. For me, I say let us party and celebrate what Jesus has done for us all. Let us put aside our gloomy faces and trials of this time and celebrate JESUS! Celebrate the victory in our lives. Go tell of this great life we have hidden with Christ in God! Colossians 3: 2, 3

With every victory we get to parade around with that "thing in chains" displayed for all to see that satan is defeated and Jesus rules! So when God is faithful in your home flaunt it! When the Lord heals a loved one, tell all. When a neighbor receives Jesus make sure you welcome him into the victory of Jesus.. For the ruler of this world has lost and we have him beaten and bound him in chains for all to see. He is forced to walk in disgrace, shame, dishonor, embarrassment, and humiliation as crowds of believers come to celebrate his defeat and to get a "peek" at a once-powerful but now totally defeated opponent. For the Glory is the Lords.

Satan is not a force we are trying to defeat; he is already defeated. But because very few believers know how to effectively use their God-given authority to resist Satan, he tries to continue illegally operating and doing damage to the souls of men and even to the creation itself.

No matter what demonic strategy may come against you this day or how many demons are assembled together for your destruction, you never have to go down defeated. Jesus plundered the enemy when He rose from the dead. So when you look into the mirror, you need to learn to see yourself as one who already has the victory. You already possess the authority necessary to keep satan under your feet where he belongs. Remember, you are no longer a victim — you are a victor!

 

 

Famous last Words!

Do Not Ignore the Last Words!

 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

— Ephesians 6:10

 

Finally, last but not least, is the most important issue of being strong in the Lord. Not only to know who we are in Christ but to live in such a way we are strong in Him. This is an incredible statement!

 

Do you not think this is a practical instruction to living our lives?  Ephesians is all about relationship!!!!  Yea, that is what I thought we want--relationships. I am fine, just me and my Jesus!  I really do badly with all the other stuff.

 

It is a good thing I am not tested on relationships; because I would flunk. As I look over my shoulder, I can see all my blunders. Rebellious and a sometimes disrespectful child to my parents and authority figures, a judge of other believers according to the stand in which I live my life—so no one measures up to what I think, then of course my husband always gets slam dunked by my quick responses and whiny attitude!   I could go on but I will not!  Well it is all not that bad these days; but I can still slip into that old man of mine from time to time.

 

Read through these and see how you score:

 

• The relationship between believers (Ephesians 4:25-5:2)
• The relationship between believers and the world (Ephesians 5:3-16)
• The relationship between husbands and wives (Ephesians 5:22-33)
• The relationship between parents and children (Ephesians 6:1-4)
• The relationship between employers and employees (Ephesians 6:5-9)

 

Man, it is a good thing our heavenly Father does not keep score on us. That is why the ending words are sooooo important!  Paul says, "Finally." and then begins to speak to us about spiritual warfare!

 

See it is not about what we know—our spiritual accumulated knowledge, information,  because this alone is not enough to keep the devil under our feet where he belongs. Living like Christ and acquiring more of His nature is what it is about. No one should have to tell us to not lie, steal no more, let no corrupt communication out of their mouths, grieve not the Holy Spirit, and put aside all anger and malice (Ephesians 4:25-31).

 

It has nothing to do with the size of the church building you attend and how many believers attend on Sunday. It has to do with experiencing the overcoming, abundant life that Jesus Christ had come to offer us.

 

I have come to evaluate my own life, and consider my fruit. How about you? Are you experiencing victory in most areas of your life, or are you suffering defeat in key areas? Have you ignored the fact that spiritual warfare is real? Have you gathered lots of spiritual information, knowledge, and facts, yet forgotten to put on the whole armor of God?

 

Praise God for all the knowledge you have gained, but now it is time to turn your intellectual knowledge of God's Word into the sword of the Spirit. Use it to combat the schemes of Satan and to overcome your judgments and ungodly mindsets. Then raise the Word of God high and strike the onslaughts the enemy has been trying to bring against you. It is also time for you to turn your knowledge about faith into a shield that withstands every demonic attack! That includes people who unjustly accuse you, or speak cruelly towards you.

 

See when things of this nature happen they are attacking Jesus, not you! That is why Paul said, "Finally." In case we missed any of the teachings, we can remember those last words: Be strong in God—know who we are in Christ. Use our spiritual weapons of warfare to keep satin under our feet!—in the power of His might!

 

How about you? Are you dressed in the whole armor of God today?  Are you able to use your armor to fight the good fight of faith? 

 

Let us bond together, lift each other up, and walk shoulder to shoulder in this journey of Faith!  Blessings to all!  Dianne