I CHOSE THIS PHOTO TO MAKE A POINT (NO PUN INTENDED)...WHAT IS SHOWN HERE IS TRUE IN SO FAR AS IT GOES! LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE PHOTO AND SEE IF YOU CAN DISCOVER THE "POINT" I AM TRYING TO MAKE. IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME READING THESE BLOGS CONCERNING THE "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT", THEN YOU ARE EXCUSED FROM THIS QUIZ! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ BLOGS 1-3 CONCERNING THIS TOPIC, HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION CONCERNING THE "POINT" I AM TRYING TO MAKE? I WOULD SO LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GO AROUND THE ROOM IF THIS WERE A CLASSROOM AND HEAR YOUR RESPONSES.
IT IS SO EXTREMELY CRUCIAL THAT SOME KEY SCRIPTURAL LIFE-SAVING STRATEGIES BE ESTABLISHED HERE AND NOW:
"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."
(EPHESIANS 6: 10,11). PLEASE NOTE - FOR IT IS MEANT TO BE KEPT ON 24/7...NOT TO BE TAKEN
OFF!
"ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH WITH WHICH YOU WILL BE ABLE TO QUENCH ALL THE FIERY DARTS (CORRECTLY TRANSLATED 'MISSILES') OF THE WICKED ONE." (EPHESIANS 6:16)
"THEREFORE, SUBMIT TO GOD. 'RESIST THE DEVIL' AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU." ( JAMES 4:7)
"FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE DO NOT WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH FOR THE
THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL BUT MIGHTY IN GOD FOR PULLING
DOWN STRONGHOLDS, CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS AND EVERY HIGH THING THAT EXALTS
ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, BRINGING EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY TO
OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST." (2 COR. 10:3-5)
"NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER....." (ISAIAH 54:17)
"AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW THE KINGDOM OF GOD SUFFERS
VIOLENCE AND THE VIOLENT (THOSE WHO ARE SO EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY
SPIRIT) TAKE HEAVEN". (MATTHEW 11:12)
"I AM THE VINE, AND YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. HE WHO ABIDES IN ME, AND I IN HIM, BEARS MUCH
FRUIT; FOR WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING." (JOHN 15:5)
THEN IN EPHESIANS 17 "......INDEED, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IS THE WORD OF GOD....". IT IS CRUCIAL TO REITERATE THAT THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS OF THE 'WORD' OF GOD...ONE BEING THE WRITTEN WORD WHICH IS THE LOGOS AND THE OTHER BEING THE SPOKEN (ACTION) WORD WHICH IS THE RHEMA. THEY HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN BLOGS - "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT 1-3" AND CAN'T BE STRESSED ENOUGH BECAUSE OF THE THEIR POWERFUL SIGNIFICANCE - HOPEFULLY YOU AS A CHRISTIAN KNOWS WE ARE AT WAR IN THE HEAVENLIES!
TOO OFEN, EACH OF US AS CHRISTIANS IS UNDER SPIRITUAL ATTACK ON A DAILY BASIS, WITH THE WAR BEGINNING IN OUR MINDS, SUCH AS BESETTING SIN, INAPPROPRIATE THOUGHTS, ANGER, UNFORGIVENESS, BITTERNESS, NEGATIVE THINKING, FEAR, ANXIETY, ETC. THEN THERE IS THE WORLD, SATAN, OR DO I EVEN DECLARE...THE CHURCH! MORE ON THESE "FOUR FIELDS OF BATTLE" IN A LATER BLOG. KEEP IN MIND AS JUST STATED, OUR "BATTLE BEGINS IN THE MIND" WHICH SO OFTEN TRAGICALLY, AFFECTS OUR BEHAVIOR IN SUCH A DISASTROUS NEGATIVE WAY RESULTING IN FLESHLY CARNAL BEHAVIOR I.E. WALKING IN THE FLESH, NOT ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT (HOLY SPIRIT) AS IS STATED IN ROMANS 8:1-17.
AND HOW DO WE OVERCOME THE BATTLES WHICH TAKE PLACE IN OUR MINDS? ISAIAH 26:3 HAS THE PERFECT SOLUTION...."YOU WILL KEEP HIM
IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON YOU BECAUSE HE TRUSTS IN YOU".
AND IN ROMANS 7:25 "SO THEN, WITH THE MIND I MYSELF SERVE THE LAW OF GOD, BUT WITH THE FLESH THE LAW OF SIN." WE ARE ALSO COMMANDED IN ROMANS 12:2 "AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT IS THAT GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD".
YEARS AGO I HEARD DECLARED THIS POWERFUL ACTION STATEMENT THAT HAS BEEN EMBEDDED IN MY VERY BEING EVER SINCE - "RUN TO THE ROAR OF THE LION"! PICTURE THIS SCENE...IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE LION'S DEN, THE ELDEST LION IS PLACED IN FRONT OF THE DEN'S OPENING. WHY THE ELDEST LION? HE HAS NO TEETH NOW, BUT HE IS STILL USEFUL IN THAT HIS ROAR KEEPS THE ENEMY AWAY! ARE YOU "ROARING" ("THE VIOLENT TAKE HEAVEN) TO KEEP YOUR ENEMY AWAY? AND JUST HOW DOES ONE "ROAR"? TO BEGIN WITH, KEEP IN MIND THE LION DID NOT "WHISPER"....HE ROARED, AS MUST WE! ARE YOU AFRAID OF SATAN AND HIS WAYS OR DO YOU TAKE YOUR "DOMINION RIGHTS" AS A CHILD OF ALMIGHTY GOD AND CONFRONT HIM WITH THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT?
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I HEARD A POWERFUL STORY WHICH SUPPORTS THAT WHICH
I AM TRYING TO DECLARE:
"A LADY WOULD LEAVE HOME EACH MORNING TO CATCH THE BUS FOR WORK. RIGHT BEHIND
WAS HER LITTLE POODLE BARKING AND NIPPING AT HER HEALS. ALONG THE WAY, SHE WOULD TURN AND GENTLY SAY TO HER DOG ' PLEASE, OH PLEASE, PRECIOUS DOG, GO HOME' - SADLY TO NO
AVAIL! THIS WENT ON AND ON AND ON, UNTIL ONE MORNING, HAVING HAD ENOUGH, SHE TURNED
TO THE POODLE, STOMPED HER FOOT, GOT DOWN AT THE EYE LEVEL OF THE DOG AND SHOUTED
'DOG, YOU GET HOME AND YOU GET HOME NOW! IMMEDIATELY, THE DOG TURNED AND RAN
AS FAST AS HIS LITTLE LEGS WOULD TAKE HIM." SHE HAD TO BECOME VERBALLY VIOLENT BEFORE
HER DOG WOULD HEED HER WORDS!
AGAIN, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IS THE RHEMA WORD! THUS THE RHEMA (FIGHTING ACTION) WORD IS THE SWORD - THE WEAPON WE WIELD AGAINST OUR ENEMIES AS LISTED ABOVE! KEEP IN MIND THAT WE MUST
FIGHT THE ENEMY BY CONFIDENTLY VERBALIZING WITH AUTHORITY, THE RHEMA (SPOKEN WORD) AS IS DECLARED IN MATTHEW 11:12 " AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SUFFERS VIOLENCE, AND THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE"! WHO ARE THE "VIOLENT"? WE AS GOD'S CHILDREN....HIS SOLDIERS WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT!
TO BE CONTINUED IN BLOG 5
IT IS SUCH A BLESSING TO RECOGNIZE COUNTRIES (IN ADDITION TO THE UNITED STATES) WHICH HAVE THOSE WHO FOLLOW THESE BLOGS: FRANCE, LATVIA, UKRAINE, THAILAND, GERMANY, RUSSIA, NICARAGUA, ALBANIA, POLAND, AND PORTUGAL. I AM "RESTFULLY AND PATIENTLY" TRUSTING THE LORD TO ADD OTHER COUNTRIES.
I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR INFORMING ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR NAME DELETED FROM THE EMAIL LIST.
ALSO, DEAR READER, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS: "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO" (ACTS 17:11) AS ALWAYS, YOUR FEEDBACK IS
SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
IT IS SO EXTREMELY CRUCIAL THAT SOME KEY SCRIPTURAL LIFE-SAVING STRATEGIES BE ESTABLISHED HERE AND NOW:
"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."
(EPHESIANS 6: 10,11). PLEASE NOTE - FOR IT IS MEANT TO BE KEPT ON 24/7...NOT TO BE TAKEN
OFF!
"ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH WITH WHICH YOU WILL BE ABLE TO QUENCH ALL THE FIERY DARTS (CORRECTLY TRANSLATED 'MISSILES') OF THE WICKED ONE." (EPHESIANS 6:16)
"THEREFORE, SUBMIT TO GOD. 'RESIST THE DEVIL' AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU." ( JAMES 4:7)
"FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE DO NOT WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH FOR THE
THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL BUT MIGHTY IN GOD FOR PULLING
DOWN STRONGHOLDS, CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS AND EVERY HIGH THING THAT EXALTS
ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, BRINGING EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY TO
OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST." (2 COR. 10:3-5)
"NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER....." (ISAIAH 54:17)
"AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW THE KINGDOM OF GOD SUFFERS
VIOLENCE AND THE VIOLENT (THOSE WHO ARE SO EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY
SPIRIT) TAKE HEAVEN". (MATTHEW 11:12)
"I AM THE VINE, AND YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. HE WHO ABIDES IN ME, AND I IN HIM, BEARS MUCH
FRUIT; FOR WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING." (JOHN 15:5)
THEN IN EPHESIANS 17 "......INDEED, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IS THE WORD OF GOD....". IT IS CRUCIAL TO REITERATE THAT THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS OF THE 'WORD' OF GOD...ONE BEING THE WRITTEN WORD WHICH IS THE LOGOS AND THE OTHER BEING THE SPOKEN (ACTION) WORD WHICH IS THE RHEMA. THEY HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN BLOGS - "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT 1-3" AND CAN'T BE STRESSED ENOUGH BECAUSE OF THE THEIR POWERFUL SIGNIFICANCE - HOPEFULLY YOU AS A CHRISTIAN KNOWS WE ARE AT WAR IN THE HEAVENLIES!
TOO OFEN, EACH OF US AS CHRISTIANS IS UNDER SPIRITUAL ATTACK ON A DAILY BASIS, WITH THE WAR BEGINNING IN OUR MINDS, SUCH AS BESETTING SIN, INAPPROPRIATE THOUGHTS, ANGER, UNFORGIVENESS, BITTERNESS, NEGATIVE THINKING, FEAR, ANXIETY, ETC. THEN THERE IS THE WORLD, SATAN, OR DO I EVEN DECLARE...THE CHURCH! MORE ON THESE "FOUR FIELDS OF BATTLE" IN A LATER BLOG. KEEP IN MIND AS JUST STATED, OUR "BATTLE BEGINS IN THE MIND" WHICH SO OFTEN TRAGICALLY, AFFECTS OUR BEHAVIOR IN SUCH A DISASTROUS NEGATIVE WAY RESULTING IN FLESHLY CARNAL BEHAVIOR I.E. WALKING IN THE FLESH, NOT ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT (HOLY SPIRIT) AS IS STATED IN ROMANS 8:1-17.
AND HOW DO WE OVERCOME THE BATTLES WHICH TAKE PLACE IN OUR MINDS? ISAIAH 26:3 HAS THE PERFECT SOLUTION...."YOU WILL KEEP HIM
IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON YOU BECAUSE HE TRUSTS IN YOU".
AND IN ROMANS 7:25 "SO THEN, WITH THE MIND I MYSELF SERVE THE LAW OF GOD, BUT WITH THE FLESH THE LAW OF SIN." WE ARE ALSO COMMANDED IN ROMANS 12:2 "AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT IS THAT GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD".
YEARS AGO I HEARD DECLARED THIS POWERFUL ACTION STATEMENT THAT HAS BEEN EMBEDDED IN MY VERY BEING EVER SINCE - "RUN TO THE ROAR OF THE LION"! PICTURE THIS SCENE...IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE LION'S DEN, THE ELDEST LION IS PLACED IN FRONT OF THE DEN'S OPENING. WHY THE ELDEST LION? HE HAS NO TEETH NOW, BUT HE IS STILL USEFUL IN THAT HIS ROAR KEEPS THE ENEMY AWAY! ARE YOU "ROARING" ("THE VIOLENT TAKE HEAVEN) TO KEEP YOUR ENEMY AWAY? AND JUST HOW DOES ONE "ROAR"? TO BEGIN WITH, KEEP IN MIND THE LION DID NOT "WHISPER"....HE ROARED, AS MUST WE! ARE YOU AFRAID OF SATAN AND HIS WAYS OR DO YOU TAKE YOUR "DOMINION RIGHTS" AS A CHILD OF ALMIGHTY GOD AND CONFRONT HIM WITH THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT?
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I HEARD A POWERFUL STORY WHICH SUPPORTS THAT WHICH
I AM TRYING TO DECLARE:
"A LADY WOULD LEAVE HOME EACH MORNING TO CATCH THE BUS FOR WORK. RIGHT BEHIND
WAS HER LITTLE POODLE BARKING AND NIPPING AT HER HEALS. ALONG THE WAY, SHE WOULD TURN AND GENTLY SAY TO HER DOG ' PLEASE, OH PLEASE, PRECIOUS DOG, GO HOME' - SADLY TO NO
AVAIL! THIS WENT ON AND ON AND ON, UNTIL ONE MORNING, HAVING HAD ENOUGH, SHE TURNED
TO THE POODLE, STOMPED HER FOOT, GOT DOWN AT THE EYE LEVEL OF THE DOG AND SHOUTED
'DOG, YOU GET HOME AND YOU GET HOME NOW! IMMEDIATELY, THE DOG TURNED AND RAN
AS FAST AS HIS LITTLE LEGS WOULD TAKE HIM." SHE HAD TO BECOME VERBALLY VIOLENT BEFORE
HER DOG WOULD HEED HER WORDS!
AGAIN, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IS THE RHEMA WORD! THUS THE RHEMA (FIGHTING ACTION) WORD IS THE SWORD - THE WEAPON WE WIELD AGAINST OUR ENEMIES AS LISTED ABOVE! KEEP IN MIND THAT WE MUST
FIGHT THE ENEMY BY CONFIDENTLY VERBALIZING WITH AUTHORITY, THE RHEMA (SPOKEN WORD) AS IS DECLARED IN MATTHEW 11:12 " AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SUFFERS VIOLENCE, AND THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE"! WHO ARE THE "VIOLENT"? WE AS GOD'S CHILDREN....HIS SOLDIERS WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT!
TO BE CONTINUED IN BLOG 5
IT IS SUCH A BLESSING TO RECOGNIZE COUNTRIES (IN ADDITION TO THE UNITED STATES) WHICH HAVE THOSE WHO FOLLOW THESE BLOGS: FRANCE, LATVIA, UKRAINE, THAILAND, GERMANY, RUSSIA, NICARAGUA, ALBANIA, POLAND, AND PORTUGAL. I AM "RESTFULLY AND PATIENTLY" TRUSTING THE LORD TO ADD OTHER COUNTRIES.
I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR INFORMING ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR NAME DELETED FROM THE EMAIL LIST.
ALSO, DEAR READER, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS: "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO" (ACTS 17:11) AS ALWAYS, YOUR FEEDBACK IS
SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
