Known Beyond Myself

“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (Psalms 139:1-6).

To realize that I am so greatly and so deeply known by you, Lord, goes beyond my limited human understanding! I open up my heart to you, and my soul yearns for you to continually search me. I thirst for you with an unquenchable thirst that you alone quench. 

You are my Creator. Yet, you are my Father! I never move without you knowing it. Every step that I plan may be formed in my mind, but You direct my steps. My thoughts aren't as high as your thoughts, but you impart the revelation of yours to my heart. 

You are familiar with every part of me—spirit, soul, and body. You know when I’m at ease or when I’m distressed. You know when I have the faith to move mountains or when I need rest to be revived.

Before I even speak, you know what I’m going to say. You know whether I’m in pain or experiencing joy. In your death you brought me forgiveness and grace. In your resurrection you brought new life. You call me your own. You place your hand upon me. You know me better than I know myself. Such understanding I cannot attain. But as I renew myself with your Word, you unveil your understanding, transforming my mind and heart.

Why would I ever live without hope? I have the promise of hope in you, Lord Jesus. Because you know me and created me, I’m in you and and you’re in me. I pray before a word is ever spoken that my words are your words. I long to have a joyful heart that speaks life. You disciple me, Lord, and guide me in your direction. You correct me when I fail, and you encourage me when I succeed. You have placed your hand upon me, and I’m always aware of its steady pressure and your unrelenting encouragement. 

Just to know you loved me enough to die for me takes my breath away. To know you raised me to new life with your spirit and purpose is a joy beyond my human ability to grasp. I surrender my limited life today because that’s all I have—a limited life unfulfilled without you—a limited life needing to receive beyond myself. Take my limited life and make me unlimited in you. Take me, and never let me claim myself again.

Priceless

 

 

It takes time for a priceless pearl to form or for us to discover the inner beauty that comes from the trials of life. A pearl's perfection comes from the constant irritation of sand within an oyster. Life is filled with constant irritation. Those irritations can spur me on to spiritual maturity, or they can destroy what God wishes to produce in me. Whether good or bad, my life is a result of my attitude. 

“Rejoice always,” Paul encourages, “pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-8). 

It’s God’s will that I maintain a positive attitude, regardless of my circumstances. I will pray and rejoice in every situation. I will persevere, reaching beyond any circumstance through faith. By surrendering to God and not my circumstances, and trusting in His unwavering support, I am lifted above the destruction of life’s numerous challenges.

Surrender is not an option; it’s a necessity.  Raging against my circumstances or being passive and accepting of them doesn’t help. Instead, letting God guide and instruct me through each challenge leads to victory.  Strength, joy, and peace come from surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s transformative power. I listen and don’t question His Word. I seek what He wants to reveal to me. I yield to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to create in me His understanding and perspective. By graciously accepting the pruning of the Vinedresser upon my life, I accept His molding, and He becomes my passion.

The price He paid for my surrender is worth everything I receive in return. I relinquish my desires, agenda, and control in every situation or relationship, allowing Him to shape me. When I let go, I discover the gift of His peace. God doesn’t demand my surrender; He gives me the freedom to yield to Him or not. Surrender is my gift to Him. 

I seek that priceless pearl. I will give all of myself to possess it. When I yield to Him without any hesitation or reservation, I realize that I'm no longer my own: I’m overwhelmed by His love. Such love is beyond my understanding, but as I give myself away to Him, I believe the miracle of His grace. On the cross, He saw me as His pearl of greatest price. I’m priceless to Him.

Defeating Deception

A stronghold is anything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). It’s anything that elevates itself in our minds, pretending to be greater and more powerful than God. It diverts our focus and makes us feel overwhelmed, controlled, and mastered.

Have you ever entertained one of these lies?

—I can never overcome this sin.
—I can’t help the way I am.
—I’m worthless. I’m nothing but a failure.
—I’m in control. I’ll know when to stop.
—I’ve been through so much. I deserve this.
—There’s nothing wrong with this relationship. 
—I’m only human. Everyone thinks these things.
—God may help others, but He doesn’t help me.
—Look what was done. Forgiving is impossible.
—God can’t fill this void. I need something more.
—I have too much trauma to ever be free.
—There’s no hope for me. 

Whether it’s an addiction, unforgiveness towards someone who has hurt us, or distress over a loss, a stronghold consumes a significant amount of our emotional and mental energy, stealing our abundant life. As a result, we remain unfulfilled, and our faith becomes ineffective. These are the enemy’s goals. He lies to deceive us.

Deception can lead us to accept or even perpetuate lies. It can also ensnare us in a web of deceit so intricate that we lose sight of our true selves and our circumstances. Perhaps we don’t always realize when we’re being deceived, but one clear sign is when we deceive others. How do we recognize a lie within ourselves? Anything we believe or do that contradicts what God’s Word says about us is a lie. 

2 Corinthians 4:2 provides guidance on identifying and responding to anything contrary to the Word. It states, “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God” (NIV). This verse reveals some of Satan’s tactics that believers must reject to walk in victory. These tactics are secrecy, shame, deception, and distorting Scripture. 

Satan’s intentions towards believers are always diametrically opposed to God’s. Jesus desires to liberate us from secrecy and lead us to a place of freedom, and transparency. On the other hand, Satan seeks to enslave us in secrecy, using guilt and shame to weigh us down. The enemy understands that when we entrust the intimate aspects of our lives to a beloved brother or sister in Christ, the Holy Spirit has been given the opportunity to do His work. We are on the path to freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).

If we’re going to live in freedom, we must expose ourselves to the revealing light of God’s Word. We must repent for anything the Holy Spirit reveals. And opening up to a trusted brother or sister in Christ can bring healing of spirit, mind, and body (James 5:16). Don’t read these words and just confess to anyone. The Holy Spirit will reveal to you who you can trust—someone with spiritual maturity and wisdom who can share God’s grace with you. Living a victorious life requires courage.

The most successful way to defeat deception is to walk in the revelation of God’s truth. The more we immerse ourselves in God’s Word, renewing our minds, the less Satan can distort its teachings. By understanding the truth of God’s Word, we gain freedom from strongholds, and as long as we continue to receive God’s truth, we remain free. 

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth” (3 John 4). The joy you experience won’t just belong to God. It will also be yours. 

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be full,” Jesus said (I John 1:4).

Those who believe and walk in God’s truth are free. 

The Desire For Unfailing Love

What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.
—Proverbs 19:22

In Proverbs 19:22, the Holy Spirit unveils the profound origin of man’s persistent desire for affirmation, approval, and success. We yearn for more in an attempt to satisfy the depths of our soul. The Spirit also reveals that we are lying to ourselves if we claim that our most pressing need is anything other than unfailing love. Each of us craves a love that is unconditional, unwavering, absolute, unreserved, broader, deeper, and higher than anything in our life. God has created us with this immense need to be filled with His love.

Seeking for a perfect, unwavering love in others is not only futile but also deeply discouraging and devastating. True fulfillment and wholeness in our hearts are achieved only when we find satisfaction in the love that created us—the love of God, Himself. 

Oswald Chambers wrote, “No love of the natural heart is safe unless the human heart has been satisfied by God first.” 

We aren’t free to love with the kind of unconditional love Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 until we understand the depth of God’s love within our own hearts. Everyone yearns for unfailing love, and we’ve all sought it. However, if we unknowingly let the enemy guide us in our search, our pursuit for this love will be futile. The enemy’s counterfeit version of love only leads to bondage.

We have all lost people we love, either due to death or changing circumstances. Despite the depth of their love, their love wasn’t unwavering. Their love ebbed, flowed, faded, and changed. When they were gone, we were left with memories and a deep sense of emptiness. Only God’s love is steadfast and never failing (1 Corinthians 13:8). His love never leaves us or forsakes us.

We all have unfulfilled needs, and we carry them around like an empty cup. We extend our hand to the people in our lives, hoping they’ll fill it. Whether we seek approval, affirmation, success, or recognition, we remain miserable until something is in that cup. We were created to be filled with God. Nothing else can fill the emptiness He designed to be filled with Himself.

“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you” (Psalm 143:8, NLT). 

When we unreservedly trust our hearts, minds, and all our needs to God each morning and ask Him to fill us with Himself, our burdens lift. When our cups are filled by Christ, there is no room left for anything else that is offered to us. A person filled with the love of Christ will never lack affirmation or approval because they draw daily from God’s well of unwavering love. They know the meaning of Paul’s words in Colossians 2:10, “You are complete in Him.”

Don’t struggle with feelings of insecurity, rejection, and being unloved. The answers lie within God’s Word, but sometimes, our hearts are so burdened with pain that we refuse the discomfort of exposing ourselves to His Word long enough to receive healing. If we will seek Him, we will find Him. We will discover that, as His beloved children, His unfailing love has always been ours; our "unrenewed" minds and hearts just haven’t known it.


Lord Jesus, I’m seeking You with all my heart. Reveal the wonder of Your great love to me. Help me to meditate on Your Word until its truth is revealed in me. Until unbelief is cast out of me. I want to trust in Your unfailing love. I want to rejoice in Your salvation. Show me Your ways, Lord, and teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth, for You are my God and Savior. All my hope is in You. I praise You, Lord, for You are good, and Your love endures forever. Your banner over me is love.

Though the mountains be shaken, Your unfailing love for me will never be shaken nor will Your covenant of peace be removed. You are my God who has compassion on me. Jesus, help me to remember this and to always have hope. Because of Your great love, I’m not consumed; Your compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.

In Your presence is fullness of joy. You dwell in my heart through faith, Jesus. I desire to be so rooted and grounded in You, that I always know what is the width and length and depth and height of Your love for me. May I know Your love, which surpasses all other knowledge and everything else in this world, so that I may be filled with all the fullness of You.

 

You Are A Privilege

 

Jesus, are we like Your disciples before the indwelling of Your Spirit, following You around but not really understanding who You are? I’m still learning who You are in me. I don’t want to be distracted with discussions of man’s opinion of You. I don’t want tradition and religion consuming me. I just want to hear You speaking and Your power transforming me until it’s only You in me. 

Jesus, You were the Word in the beginning, and You are still the Word now. All things were made through You, and without You nothing was made. You created me. In You is life. Your light is life in me. I don’t want any darkness in me to keep me from knowing You. I don’t want to listen to talking points about You or hear about spiritual movements that are of You or aren’t of You. I want to know You crucified and the power of Your resurrection. I want You, the Word, full of grace and truth, living in me.

I pray for those who only want to know about You. I pray for those who believe they are truly seeking You but there’s something holding them back from letting You have all of them. Perhaps, it’s pride, a fear of man, a deep wound, an offense, a sense of unworthiness, or a fear of missing the mark. Perhaps, they are just seeking You too desperately, and it has become their work. In their frustration, they cannot let go and allow You to work in them. I know this, Jesus, for I have been there. I have made You a work when all you wished was to have the deepest fellowship with me. 

You are a privilege, not a work, Jesus. Prayer is my privilege, Jesus. It’s only hard when I see it as a work. Jesus, pray in me. I cannot imagine praying without You, Holy Spirit. You know all things. I don’t. You know my flesh needs to be avoided. I’m subject to selfishness. Jesus, You aren’t. Praying in You builds my faith. You complete me, Jesus.

You woke me out of a deep sleep. I heard Your longing for Your children. I felt Your pain for our striving. I heard, “Wasn’t it enough for Me to give My life for My children to know Me?”

I offer You these written words as an offering, Jesus. I cannot create hunger or trust in anyone. I cannot crucify any fear or tradition. You yearn to gather You children close and have fellowship spirit to Spirit.

I fail at times. But Jesus, please, right now use me for Your highest. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart bring You nothing but joy.

Practicing Peace

To remain in continual peace is God’s will. For peace to flow in your life, you must practice it every day. 

Jesus’ instruction to the woman who had been healed of the issue of blood was to “go into peace so that you may be continually healed.” It’s His instruction to us (Mark 5:34, AMPC).

Does that mean you can’t be tempted to worry? Temptation is inevitable. However, you must resist the temptation to succumb to the sin of worry. But here’s the thing: just as you can develop a habit of worry, you can also cultivate a habit of not worrying. By consciously choosing to focus on peace, you can create a habit that brings inner calm to your life. 

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you.” When Jesus talks about this peace, He’s saying He’s leaving it with us. It’s His peace. It’s the same peace that governed His life. He said it will govern ours. 

“My peace I give unto you,” Jesus said. We don’t have to work up our own peace. It’s His peace He gives us to walk in. He also said His peace wasn’t the peace the world gives. Next He’s telling us how to stay in the peace He’s given us. “Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid.” 

Jesus is telling us how to guard our peace—to keep our minds and hearts free of worry and fear. To stay in peace, we must resist the temptation to worry. Jesus lived in peace. His peace is the same peace He gave us. He’s telling us that we can do as He did. We can safeguard our hearts from worry and know His peace.

Jesus had many opportunities to lose His peace. But He made a decision to remain in peace. Jesus also said in John 16:33 that in Him we have peace. He then said the world would give us tribulation but to be of good cheer. The Greek actually says that “to be of good cheer” means to encourage yourself. There’s a time when you need to speak to yourself and say, “This is going to be alright. I live in God’s peace.”

Do you realize that you will come to believe what you hear? You must speak His peace to yourself. If you’re listening to wild thoughts and creating scenarios that make you anxious and afraid, you’re listening to the wrong thing. If you don’t have anyone else to speak God’s peace into your mind and heart, you can speak it to yourself. 

Cheer yourself up. Tell yourself, “This is going to be alright. God’s Word is true. Peace and healing belong to me. Victory is mine in Jesus.”  Encourage yourself out loud, and let these words fill your ears, for faith is born from hearing and hearing comes through the Word of God (Romans 10:17). If you have no one else to cheer you up, cheer yourself up.

One of the strategies of the enemy is to remind us over and over where we messed up. We went a wrong direction. We made a bad decision, and the enemy implies there is no hope; we must pay the price because we did it wrong. But Jesus says we must cast all our cares on Him. That’s right. All our anxieties on Him. All our fear. All our sins. Especially when we’ve messed up. He’s waiting for us to repent, and let Him have our mess. When we mess up, we need His help more than ever. 

Jesus is right at our side saying “Why are you carrying around all that weight? Let me have your burden. It’s going to crush you. Just heave it onto me. I’ll carry it and deal with it.” 

Give Him that burden. Move it from your shoulders to His. If you continue to carry all that worry, it will affect your health. It will keep tearing you down until you are completely defeated.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Guard your mind and heart. Think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report (Philippians 4:8). You must practice peace everyday. And once you continually practice it, you become skillful with it. It becomes second nature to you. The flow of peace becomes your good habit. 

Peace is unparalleled. It’s the only way to live. 

Go Into Peace

At the age of fifteen, Kenneth, a young man bedridden due to an incurable blood disease, made a profound decision to invite Jesus into his life. He had been paralyzed for over a year; worry and fear had claimed his heart. He’d been told that he had no chance of living, that healing had died with the Apostles, and God probably didn’t want him well or he would have already healed him. God began to deal with the worry and fear in Kenneth’s life. Several months after being saved, he heard a still small voice telling him he must stay in the Word of God. Kenneth began sowing Mark 11:23-24 into his heart until he came to believe, that even though he was about to die, this mountain of sickness in his life could be cast out. One night he began speaking these verses and felt the Holy Spirit encouraging him to give praise to God for his healing. And as he praised the Lord, God healed him completely from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. 

When he first got saved, God didn’t immediately reveal anything about healing to Kenneth. God first started dealing with the sin of worry in his life. If Kenneth had received healing without God taking care of his worry, he wouldn’t have been able to hold on to his healing. So God dealt with the sin of worry first. Then Kenneth was able to receive healing and not lose it.

God not only wants us to receive what belongs to us, but for us not to lose it. The enemy is constantly trying to steal everything God has blessed us with. It’s up to us to hold fast. This is what Jesus was declaring to the woman with the issue of blood when he said, “Go into peace and he continually healed.” He’s revealing that peace should be the flow of our everyday life—that healing power flows in peace. But worry and fear will close the door to the power of God. 

Jesus has redeemed us from fear, worry, and the shame of our past. He doesn’t want us to worry because sowing worry and fear will rob us of our peace, joy, and healing. The truth is the perfect love of Jesus casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

Maybe you think worrying about something or others is your responsibility. My mother did. Please realize that not being worried doesn’t mean you’re being irresponsible. Not worrying just means you’re refusing to carry the weight of that concern. You are giving it to Jesus.

The Word tells us to cast our burden on the Lord; He will sustain us (Psalm 55:22). Synonyms for sustain are: bear, support, carry, and stand. Jesus tells us to give our burdens to Him (Matthew 11:28-30). He will carry their crushing weight and support us. He will keep us from falling.

Hundreds of years ago before modern conveyance, when someone had a big, heavy burden, there was an animal to carry it. They would heave that heavy burden onto the back of an animal. The weight didn’t disappear. It was just transferred to the animal. If they had tried to carry that heavy load, it would have crushed them. That’s what worry does; it crushes us.

Jesus tells us to transfer our worries onto his shoulders. It doesn’t mean the problem goes away. You’ve just moved the burden and its weight from your shoulders to His. Jesus literally became our “beast of burden” when He carried the weight of our sins to the cross. If we will give him the weight of our worry and fear, we’ll become free of their crushing weight. 

When Jesus tells the woman in Mark 5:34 to “Go into peace,” He is literally telling her that this must be her lifestyle. You must control what you think about and cast your care upon the Lord.

In Peter 5:7, the AMPC says, “Casting the [whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, [once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”

This is “going into peace.” Cast all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns once and for all on Him. Jesus wants to fix your problem. He wants to heal you. He wants to take care of you. He cares for your affectionately, watchfully, and carefully. But He can only fix what you heave onto His shoulders. 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).

Kenneth cast his worry upon the Lord. Peace came, guarding his heart and mind. And with peace, the Word manifested itself in his life. Healing came. 

Lord Jesus, I seek your Word to manifest in me. I will sow your Word in my heart until it bears your promised fruit in my life. I cast all my worry, concern, and fear upon you. I guard my mind from any lie of the enemy and my heart from any unbelief. I go into you, Jesus. I go into peace. I abide in you today, tomorrow, and forever. Now abide in me. You are my peace and healing. I will continually receive your Word. I will remain in you. This is my prayer, Jesus. I wish only to fulfill what you have asked of me. Give me clarity. Help me not to walk in front of you or lag behind you. I walk in fellowship with you, trusting in you and you alone. Help me to freely give what you have freely given me.

In your name I pray.  Amen.

Peace Is The Answer

We read in Mark 5 the account of the woman with the issue of blood. It’s a powerful testimony of healing in Jesus. The words spoken by the woman that day in response to Jesus’ question about who had touched Him became the testimony that would aid others in receiving healing for centuries to come.

When Paul stood before King Agrippa, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and the revelation of Jesus Christ. However, knowledge isn’t what he shared with the king. Instead, he gave his testimony. It was Paul’s personal testimony that touched King Agrippa. When we read the testimony of this woman’s faith, it moves us. We can see ourselves in her place and see answers for our own life.

This woman knew that Jesus wasn’t going to come knocking at her door. She would have to go to Him. Consider how difficult and how risky it was for her to go to Jesus. Imagine how weak she was from bleeding for twelve years. And according to Jewish Law, it was unlawful for her to be in public. She didn’t do what was convenient, suitable, or easy. If people do what’s convenient, they will be robbed of what Jesus has for them. Healing was worth the risk. We don’t know how far she had to go to find Jesus, but when she found him, there was a large, pressing crowd. Everything was against her getting near Him. But she said, “If I can only touch the hem of His garment, I shall be whole.” She is driven by believing Jesus is her answer. She pushes through the crowd, finally reaching Jesus and touching his garment.

Jesus stopped and asked who touched Him. He spoke this to the crowd pressing around Him, but the woman knew his question was for her. She must have been hesitant to answer to testify that she was the one. After all, she wasn’t allowed to be in public, and the man standing there with Jesus is Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue. Jairus is someone who could sentence her for being out in public. You can see why she was hesitant, but she overcame her fear and fell down before Jesus and testified that she was the one who had touched him. 

“And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith (your trust and confidence in Me, springing from faith in God) has restored you to health. Go in (into) peace and be continually healed and freed from your [distressing bodily] disease’” (Mark 5:34, AMPC).

Go “into” peace. 

Many don’t realize that your health is connected to peace in your life. Jesus said, “My peace I leave with you” (John 14:27). When you leave that place of peace in your mind and heart, you leave the flow of Jesus’ power in your life. However, when you are able to enjoy the peace of God, you are open to receive healing.

“Go in (into) peace and be continually healed.”

Jesus was actually telling this woman how to keep her healing because the devil is always trying to steal from us everything we receive from God. Faith has made us whole, and staying in His peace will keep us whole. 

The devil is always going to try to attack a person who has been healed. He is going to return, often with more sickness that he caused before ( Matthew 12:43-45). If that person hasn’t guarded his mind and his heart, he can lose the healing he has received.

When the attack comes, it doesn’t mean your faith isn’t working. It doesn’t mean the Word isn’t working. It means you must stand your ground and hold fast to what you have received. Jesus was telling the woman who had been healed, “To keep your healing from being stolen from you, you’re going to have to stay in peace.” 

Jesus not only says that He gives us peace; He also says that we should not let our hearts be troubled (John 14:27). Staying in peace comes through guarding your mind and heart in Christ. Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). This means when peace rules in our hearts, Jesus rules over every concern of our life. And we are to follow His peace (Colossians 3:15-16).

When the enemy comes to steal your healing or anything Jesus has done for you, you must keep speaking the truth of what you have received. The blood of Jesus has paid the price in full and healed you; you overcome the enemy’s attempts to steal your health with the words of your testimony (Revelation 12:11). When you speak the truth of your healing, your promise, your provision, or your deliverance, you are speaking life into your circumstances and your health. Your words not only build your faith, but also the faith of others.

The thieves of fear and worry are just waiting to steal our health. A troubled heart invites them in. Tomorrow, we will look at protecting what Jesus has given us. If we will abide in Him, He will abide in us. 

Strongholds

 

We frequently hear strongholds must be demolished, but do we truly comprehend what a stronghold is?

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, KJ21).

Paul tells us exactly what a stronghold is. It's an “imagination”and a “high thing” that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. A stronghold is a thought. It’s a belief that forms in the mind and goes against the truth of God and His Word. A stronghold holds itself in high esteem above God’s truth. And it keeps God’s truth from benefiting our lives.

Strongholds are born of traditions, false religions, bondage to sin, human reasoning, and anything that contradicts or disregards the reality of God and His truth. Strongholds are demonic in origin. Examples of these unclean spirits are: the spirit of lying, the spirit of fear, the spirit of infirmity, the spirit of jealousy, the spirit of heaviness, the spirit of pride, the spirit of discord, and the spirit of perversion. These strongholds serve as battlegrounds in the life of a believer. As long as these strongholds remain, victory will remain elusive. A believer will perpetually struggle, the war raging within his mind and body as each stronghold attempts to seize control of his weakened life.

But Praise Jesus! We have weapons of warfare that are not carnal; they are the revelation of God’s truth, which sets us free. The fact that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, the truth that the Gospel is the power of salvation, the potential of faith to overcome any obstacle, the reality of our salvation and reconciliation with God, the power of the Holy Spirit who resides within us and empowers us, and the power of prayer are more than sufficient to tear down every stronghold that opposes God (Ephesians 6:10-18). God has equipped us well to win this war. He has given us His truth, and the knowledge of it it sets us free. 

A stronghold, which exalts itself above God’s truth, keeps His truth from manifesting itself in our lives. That stronghold only has the power to influence us to the degree we submit to it. Likewise, God’s Word only has as much influence as we give it. As we submit to the truth of God’s Word and act upon it, strongholds will come down.

If you will continually submit yourself, spirit, soul, and body, to the truth of God’s Word, the devil will flee (James 4:7). Whatever lie has claimed your thoughts and captivated your imagination will take time to overcome. But never give up. God's truth will become greater in you, defeating every lie. 

Continually bring every thought, imagination, and belief you hold under the examination of God’s truth. Let the Holy Spirit reveal any stronghold that claims you. Now activate your faith. Tear down that stronghold with the truths of your position in Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, and prayer. Keep taking captive every thought until your thoughts are God's thoughts. His truth delivers you and sets you free.
 

Serving The Lord

Serve the Lord with gladness;
 come before His presence with singing.
 Know that the Lord, He is God;
 it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
—Psalms 100:2-3
 
 
Serving the Lord is something He accomplishes in us and not something we accomplish. 

When the Lord works in and through us, we serve Him with gladness. He does more than we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20)! The Lord draws us into His presence! It’s a new song (Psalm 96:1) of praise to God for Jesus’ finished work of grace! It’s praise for complete freedom from the bondage of sin and all of its destruction and death. 

It’s only when we have an experiential knowledge of Jesus as our Redeemer, Healer, Provider, and Restorer can we surrender to Him and serve Him out of His new life within us. We serve the Lord with gladness when we know it’s He who has made us righteous, and not we ourselves. 
 
Serving the Lord is either our work or His work. It’s only when we know our identity in Christ (that it’s He who has made us and not we ourselves), that the Lord is able to birth and deliver His perfect will in us. But when we serve the Lord out of our own or someone else’s desire, we make what we do for Him about us. The recognition of others and their opinions becomes more important than God’s desire. When we serve Him out of human expectation, we make the work we do for Him subject to our feelings instead of subject to His truth. When we serve the Lord because we are indebted to Him, we make what we do for Him our work. We are not free to serve Him with gladness when we serve Him out of debt. 

Serving the Lord out of a sense of owing Him is of the flesh and not of the Spirit. It’s service to the Lord that is not freely given. Any work for the Lord not freely given to Him is a work of the flesh. It becomes our work born of the debt that we feel we owe Jesus. And there is no joy or gladness in a work that will never set us free from ourselves. Joy and gladness are only found in serving Him when our service flows out of the new life He has given us. Gladness flows freely when we serve Him out of faith in the truth of what He has done for us and not out of feelings of indebtedness. Joyful service flows without hindrance and reservation when it flows freely out of our debt-free identity in Jesus Christ.
 
We are the Lord’s people and the sheep of His pasture. And as His sheep, we can hear His voice (John 10:27). When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. He wishes to reveal Himself to us. He wants us to know ourselves as He knows us. He wants us to know deep within our hearts and without any doubt that our debt is cancelled in its entirety—that there is nothing but to learn of Him and listen to Him, and allow Him to serve through us.
 
The Lord served us first before we ever served Him. He loved us first before we ever loved Him. Yet, so often we try to serve Him without experiencing Him serving us. Often, we try to stir up love for God without experiencing Him loving us in depths we have held in reserve. We cannot truly receive the fullness of God’s love until we respond to His grace with faith. We must say “yes” to the miracle of Him loving us first.
 
Jesus loved and served us first by making us right with God. His service is done. It’s finished. There is nothing more for Him to do. We receive the finished work of grace by faith and not by any work we do for Him. His work of grace is a complete work—the perfect work of salvation. We lack nothing in its truth. We stand in His righteousness before God without blemish—without debt. 
 
The Holy Spirit challenges us to behold the complete and finished work Jesus has done in us. It’s He who has made us and given us a new life of peace with God. Yes, we are called to serve the Lord, but we are called to serve Him with gladness. And joy is only found when we know that we are His—that He has made us whole—that He has removed our sins as far as the East is from the West. Jesus, who had no sin, took our sinful debt and paid it so we might have His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
 
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).
 
When you know who you are in Christ, you give out of His measure—and not out of your own. His power releases in you.  Your work is His work and not yours. You serve Him with gladness—pressed down and running over He gives unto you!

The Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation!
—Psalms 100:5