Strongholds Fall

One who is wise can go up against the city of the mighty, and pull down the stronghold in which they trust.

 —Proverbs 21:22 (NIV).

Have you ever faced a wall in your life that seems impenetrable? You can't find a weakness in its structure. Each time you think you have found a way to break through, the wall just reinforces itself. No matter what you try, you fail. You finally admit that you haven't leaned on God for His help and guidance—that you have stubbornly decided to bring down that wall by yourself. Without His wisdom to reveal the weakness of that wall, you can't discover the one thing that will bring it down. With God's understanding and His strength, you can leave that whole wall in ruins. 

Do you have a stronghold in your life that keeps you in bondage and from freedom in Jesus Christ? Perhaps there is something where you have unwisely and maybe even unwittingly placed your trust. Maybe you can't quite identify what causes your feelings of bondage. You need God's wisdom to identify and conquer what you alone have no power to address. "If any of you lacks wisdom," James writes, "you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you" (James 1:5, NIV). If you ask God for His wisdom, He bestows it abundantly without restraint. With it, you can identify, address, and conquer that very thing where you have placed your trust—the thing that has held you in bondage. With His wisdom and power, you can pull down any stronghold which has claimed your trust.

With God's wisdom and power, you can also discern what is needed to bring down strongholds that have claimed the trust of others. With His understanding, you can have the strength and Spirit-led forbearance to go against deception the enemy has fostered. BUT how can you powerfully address another person's stronghold until you have resolved your own? Before you find what needs to be addressed in someone else's life, first cast out what is in your own. Seek God's wisdom and admit your stronghold—that wall which keeps you from His fullness. When you have wisely studied that wall's strength and deception, you will find the weakness in its structure which, when addressed, will pull down the whole wall.

Allow the Holy Spirit to control you, and the wall no longer is impenetrable. That stronghold is no longer stronger than Jesus who strengthens you. His wisdom has found the crack in its structure, and it will fall. When your wall comes crashing down you experience His power. You understand freedom in a way you never thought possible. You walk in His authority and His wisdom. Then you have the insight to help others address their walls and discover freedom.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

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A Life-Giving Perfume

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

—1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NIV).

People don't just need to hear about who Christ is in my life. They need to see Him alive in me. They don't need to hear about His forgiveness, but they need to realize it. They don't just need to hear about His power, but they need to experience it through me. They don't just need to hear about His peace, but they need to witness my calm, reassuring faith in Him no matter the circumstances. They don't just need to hear about His joy, but they need to grasp His joy in my life springing up from depths of faith in Him. They don't just need to hear of His love. They need to feel His love.

 

If I allow His grace to mold my life, His love will fill me. People shall realize what I experience in my life is different than the norm. When I share Jesus, they may accept or reject Him, but His love will have touched them. "Our lives," Paul declares, "are a Christ-like fragrance rising to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16a, NIV). If I am His vessel, He does the work and brings His power to draw each life to Him. Jesus, who called me, is faithful. I choose to be faithful to Him. I long to be a life-giving perfume, but it is not my place “to do” or to save. My place is only “to be” the changed person He has wrought with His grace.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2019/04/a-life-giving-perfume.html

 

Convicted by Righteousness

The Last Supper is over. Jesus has broken bread with His disciples, and spoken of His own broken body given for them. He has shocked them by telling them that he is getting ready to leave them to go to His father—that one of them will deny Him and another will betray Him. The whole evening has shattered their dream of Jesus victoriously overcoming their world with His message. He has told them victory is only found in His death—but that He will not leave them alone. The Comforter—the Spirit of Truth—the Holy Spirit will come. He must go to the Father for the Spirit of Truth to come. 

“And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come,” He tells them, “He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” (John 16:8-11, NKJV)

Jesus has given His life for mankind! The Holy Spirit has come!  And now the Holy Spirit convicts the world of three things: of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. If we look closely at these verses, we see whom He convicts of what.  And that is important for us to know because the enemy condemns and tries to convince us that God is angry—that His purpose is to punish us. The Spirit of Truth has something else to teach us! God is love! Jesus did not come to condemn the world. He came so that it might be saved. So what does the Holy Spirit convict believers of?  Jesus made it clear in these verses.

The first thing to be convicted of is sin. These verses in John tell us that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. He convicts “of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” Unbelief is the sin, and those who are convicted of it are those who don’t believe in Jesus. At the cross all sin was destroyed. God through His son, Jesus, reconciled the whole world to himself, but those in the world who do not know Him (unbelievers) are lost in the sin of unbelief.

The second thing the Holy Spirit convicts the world of is righteousness. But who are those in the world who are convicted of it? Jesus says in these verses in John that the Holy Spirit convicts “of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you will see me no more.”  Those in the world who are convicted of righteousness are those who believe in Jesus. Jesus was not only speaking to the disciples but to believers today.  As believers He convicts us of righteousness. We don't have to "see" Him. We believe Jesus is with the Father.  Unbelievers do not believe.

Trish Gunn in her book Unveiling Jesuswrites, “Jesus was prophesizing of the New Covenant reality of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit for believers. The Holy Spirit is in the believer’s life to convict us of righteousness…Jesus is the anchor for our souls, and the Holy Spirit is here to remind us of that truth. The Holy Spirit is helping us to overcome our unbelief. He is our Advocate that reminds us that we are the righteousness of God. He is helping us to see that the accuser, the devil, has been condemned and triumphed over at the cross. He is the Comforter, and He guides us into all truth…Our new nature in Christ will know when we are not walking in consistency with the nature of God, and the Spirit of God operating in our new nature will lead us into godliness.”  This is conviction by righteousness for the believer.

The third thing the Holy Spirit convicts the world of is judgment. And who is convicted of judgment? “Of judgment,” Jesus tells the disciples, “because the ruler of this world is judged.”  The ruler of this world is judged, and who the ruler of this world?  It is the Satan. Here Jesus speaks of Satan being judged—not believers. Believers have already been judged righteous by Jesus. The Holy Spirit convicts (convinces) believers that they are righteous through the blood of Jesus.

It is not the Holy Spirit’s purpose in our lives as believers to hammer us again and again with thoughts of our failures—of our sins. That is the enemy’s purpose. Feelings of unworthiness will keep us from enjoying the presence of God. Nothing we do makes us worthy to approach God. Only the gift of Jesus’ life for ours makes us worthy. In Him alone are we worthy. The Holy Spirit encourages us daily that our identity is only in Him. And because of His love and grace, we can boldly approach Him in our times of need! Nothing separates us from His love. The ruler of the world is defeated. Jesus did not come into this world to condemn us. We are convicted by righteousness—not by sin. The Holy Spirit reminds us of this so that we are empowered to live lives that reflect the worthiness He died to unselfishly give us. 

You are not condemned. You are loved and convicted by the Savior who died to give you His life. Walk in His Grace. Grow in His purpose. Rejoice in His peace and joy. Whom the Lord has set free is INDEED free.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2019/04/convicted-by-righteousness.html

Live in Me

 

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b, NIV).

No matter what I face, Jesus, I am never alone. You are with me.

No matter my weakness, you make it your strength.

No matter how I feel, I rest in your Truth. Your Truth never changes.

No matter my problem, I have peace that you are in control. 

No matter my failure, I have victory. No weapon that tries to defeat me will succeed.

No matter my uncertainty, I have joy in your promise. Your timing is not mine.

No matter what appears to be real, isn't. I have faith in you. You always take care of me.

Nothing else matters, Lord. I believe who you say I am. 

You, without judgment—laying down your life for my sake—have become me.

You live in me. I am no more.

            © 2019 Lynn Lacher

                  www.lynnlacher.com/2019/04/live-in-me.html

Hunger and Thirst

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

—Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

The Word says that you received the righteousness of Jesus when you were born again. His blameless and innocent life replaced your sinful one. Why then sometimes don’t you feel blameless? Why is it so hard to live what the Word says you have received from Him? You can’t act out His righteousness. That would be from self-effort and would be self-righteousness. A blameless life is not revealed in how you behave, because that is impossible. A blameless life is revealed in who you are in Jesus. Hunger and thirst to know who He is in you.

True righteousness rises from a changed heart which remains continually hungry to understand the new nature Jesus has given you. Then you are changed in the spirit of your mind. When you are changed in the spirit of your mind, you have the mind of Christ. You see with His eyes—hear with His ears—understand with His heart. You know without a doubt that He has loved you with an everlasting love. You are overwhelmed with the immensity of His grace. You walk humbly and joyfully living what He has given—not to earn His love or the approval of man—but just because you belong to Him.

Hunger and thirst to grow in Jesus’ gift of righteousness, and you shall be continually filled with the Holy Spirit to direct and empower you. You will be blessed to receive again and again! Jesus sees you through the finished work of His grace! He sees you pure. Jesus sees you changed. He sees you as He has made you—debt free—a new person. Because you are human and it is impossible to be perfect, the Holy Spirit convicts you with His righteousness that you received when you were born again. He draws you and convinces you when all is not right in your life. You are not condemned but loved. The enemy might try to convince you that God doesn’t love you anymore—that you are forever separated from His love. But that is a lie. Jesus still sees you blameless—through the finished work of the cross. You are never forsaken. Nothing can separate you from His love.

Who would not always hunger and thirst for this kind of love—for this amazing grace—for this gift? If you hunger and thirst, you shall be filled! And out of your life will flow rivers of His living water—unstoppable—full of mercy and grace. And that is a blessed life!

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2019/04/hunger-and-thirst.html

Hurdles

Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

—Hebrews 12:1b-2a (NLT)

What do you think of a runner who gives up when faced with the first hurdle in a race? That hurdle lifts him upward and inspires him to greater determination. It doesn’t defeat him. What about your life in Jesus Christ? What is your reaction when you face hurdles? Do they lift you to greater heights of faith or overthrow you? Life always presents hurdles. It is what you do with those hurdles that destroy or build your faith. 

What is your hurdle at this moment? Keep your eyes on Jesus. He was able to finish His race. He never lost sight of the promise at the end.  He overcame the hurdles in His way―shame, ridicule, the cross. Nothing He faced defeated Him. When you meet your hurdles, remember the rejection that Jesus suffered. Remember His commitment to stay the course. He held out to the end of His race so you could have new life in Him.

Faith is the only way to run your race in Jesus Christ. It is the only way to live a successful life. Confidence grows when you choose to reap the advantage of spiritual exercise. When stretched you receive the most significant benefit. With physical activity, any pain you feel lessens, and mass muscle forms. With spiritual exercise, you believe more in what God reveals as truth instead of what you feel. You receive greater faith and His strength to overcome each obstacle. When you are sure you can’t jump another hurdle, the Holy Spirit becomes the second wind that spurs you on to greater heights. Just as a runner experiences well-being from his body producing endorphins, when life stretches you to the maximum, you receive spiritual endorphins from the Holy Spirit that bring peace. Hurdles inspire and don’t defeat you.

Will you move forward, facing and springing over each hurdle with greater spiritual growth? Or will you despair and hide and never discover the power He wishes to impart? Rise above your fears and stretch yourself to believe Him. Allow each hurdle in life to challenge you to lean on Him and discover His strength. Reject feelings of failure, and don't dwell on what the last hurdle did to you. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He began this work in you, and He will complete it. Abundant faith brings abundant life. Trust in His promise to carry you. Run your race by faith—trusting Him.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2019/03/hurdles.html

Words Fitly Spoken

The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

—James 3:17 (NLT)

The wisdom that God imparts is gentle, pure, and peaceable. It yields to others and does not insist on its own way. His wisdom is full of grace because He is forgiving and merciful. Bringing forth a wealth of fruit in your life, it never creates something to make a point. It is always honest and sincere.

 Proverbs 10:8 reads:

—The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin (NIV).

—A wise heart takes orders; an empty head will come unglued (MSG).

—The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces (NLT). 

If you don't want to be a “chattering or babbling fool” or have an “empty head” or “come to ruin” or be “unglued” or “fall flat on your face," you will gladly allow the Holy Spirit to guide your life. Without His wisdom, you chatter with no purpose and have no peace. If you babble to hear yourself talk, you do not listen to listen to what someone else has to say. Your words have no power to impart hope and faith because they are full of what you consider wisdom instead of God's wisdom. You chatter on unaware of your emptiness and shallowness. 

God gives wisdom generously when asked from a single-minded and sincere heart. You receive it when you yield to the Holy Spirit instead of your own understanding. Only God’s wisdom brings out the best in your life. It results in the wealth of His fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—directing your thoughts and actions. Unlike a person that just chatters, His wisdom gives you the ability to speak the truth which makes a difference—brings hope—instills peace—offers greater faithand provides a fresh perspective.

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver,” Solomon advised (Proverbs 25:11, NKJV). This kind of wise word makes a difference. A friend once spoke of an opportunity that God had extended, and how she believed God was opening doors. Suddenly she mentioned her fear of failure. Someone said to her, “do you really believe that God sets you up for failure?” These were wise words that offered truth and a positive outlook. Neither does God set you up for failure. Daily ask for His wisdom, and always pray for your words to be filled with His wisdom and grace. Words which are fitly spoken consistently make a difference.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

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Stand in Grace

My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.

—1 Peter 5:12b (NLT)

Do you know what it is like when you read your life’s calling written in someone else’s words?  I don’t know why I had never noticed this message in Peter’s words before, but now it encourages me. It is the message of my heart—for believers to know that the troubles they have are not meant to defeat but edify them. "I am writing," Peter says, "to God's chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1, NLT).  Paul writes to encourage these believers that the hardships they experience living in foreign lands are genuinely a part of God's grace for them. They are not to give up, but to stand firm.

Do you feel you are living in a foreign and strange land? Well, you are. “This world is not our permanent home,” the writer to the Hebrews imparts. “We are looking forward to a home yet to come” (Hebrews 13:14, NLT). Yes, we are looking forward to that time one day when we shall live with Him, but for now, we live in a land where others often misunderstand our faith. "The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it," John writes, "but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of it” (John 5:19a, NLT). 

When you allow His grace to fill you with the unconditional love of Calvary, you are different than the world. When filled with His grace, you don’t strive to reach others. His love through you reaches them. Your heart bleeds and hurts for them. You become less so that he can be more in you. What you face in this world for His sake means life to someone else. His grace has the power to not only change you but to change someone else. Anything you experience—either from rejection or from a trial—are all opportunities to allow Him to love through you with the grace and truth of His Word.

“Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us,” the writer to the Hebrews advises. “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a, NLT). Don’t give up. Let Jesus strengthen you. Keep your eyes on Him, and allow Him to mold your life. Run your race with perseverance. He will never stop cheering you on to the goal, and you will irrevocably inspire others to run it with you.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2019/03/stand-in-grace.html

Living Word

For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

—Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)

Scripture has something to say about itself. What it reveals speaks clearly of its worthiness. The Word of God is alive. It breathes powerful truth and life into my tired, dry existence­—into my heart that breaks—into my mind upon which the enemy etches lies—into my dry bones which ache for His breath of life. It slices through doubt and speaks faith. It exposes the wrong attitudes and desires of my heart. It opens my mind to listen to His instruction and to trust His truth. It sets me free from a heart that judges and puts conditions on love.

The Word of God instructs that I not only believe what it says but that I also trust its message by applying it to my life. My life changes by its powerful message. I can trust God's Word for every moment of my life. Its very nature is timeless! It is unchanging, and just like Jesus Christ, it is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I can believe its direction for all the circumstances I face, and for the decisions I make. 

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,” the Word declares, “and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11, NIV). His Word has a purpose, and the Holy Spirit reveals it to me when I study and open my heart to its truth. 

In the beginning, the Word already existed! Its truth was witnessed and shared by those who God chose to reveal it. Not only does the Word breathe God’s truth, but its power is also absolute. I can stand on what it says. I can believe in its promises. As I study and seek His truth, God also breathes His revealed truth into me, changing the attitudes and desires of my heart.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

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Peace and Contentment

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

— Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

Without God, we can never know true contentment and peace. Nothing in this hectic world can offer such peace―no possession, no person, no joyful anticipation. Only God promises spiritual contentment and peace, and that is something the world can never give. Paul wrote that he had learned to be content in every circumstance. Whether that circumstance was joyful and inspiring or hard and discouraging, Paul knew contentment and peace.

Paul's contentment came from a deeply personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He didn't want to be in prison, and he certainly didn't want to be dependent on others to provide for his needs. But, no matter what he faced, he was content. His eyes were not on what He was around him but upon His Savior. God gave him peace, and a purpose to fulfill. Fulfilling His mission strengthened Paul's faith in God's provision. His incarceration could not stop him from trusting God to meet all his needs. His chains could not keep him from writing of God's great goodness. He had learned the secret of being content in every circumstance.

Many times we cannot find contentment and peace in our circumstances. Struggling doesn't help. Being upset with God doesn't help. But there is a peace that passes our human understanding. When we know God as intimately as Paul, we can give Him all that rages, and take refuge in Him. Paul's life shows us that is it absolutely possible to have peace and contentment when we trust God. Paul knew who He was in Jesus, and because of that, He had an abiding relationship with Him.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,” Jesus said. “I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27, NIV). “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV). 

Jesus’ peace is not dependent upon what the world or circumstances offer. We may have trouble, but we do not need to fear. He has overcome whatever we face. When we seek to understand the gift of His righteousness for our sin and how He sees us through the eyes of grace, we begin to see everything differently. His grace is truth, and because of it, we have peace with God. When we realize that nothing is impossible because of His grace, we can boldly face whatever is to come with His peace and purpose. We can understand that nothing is impossible for Jesus. Just as Paul, we can rise to our calling—not in our own strength, but in His.

© 2019 Lynn Lacher

www.lynnlacher.com/2019/03/peace-and-contentment.html