2 Corinthians 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God. and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

I once heard that random thoughts are like birds that fly over your head when outside. You cannot control them, but you can do something about them lighting on you, which is symbolic of entertaining the thoughts. You see, the main way we are attacked by demonic forces are through thoughts they shoot at us like arrows (Psalm 64). In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, Paul exhorts us to take every thought that is not from the Lord captive to the obedience of Christ. He further emphasizes that we posses spiritual weapons to defeat these fiery missiles. So what does it mean to take ungodly concepts to Christ’s obedience? Simply, it means to surrender every thought contrary to the nature of God to the finished work of the cross. Scripture tells us in Philippians chapter 2 that Jesus obeyed to the point of death on the cross, and we know that at the cross total and complete victory over the enemy was accomplished (Colossians 2:15) Therefore, we are yielding ungodly beliefs to Christ’s triumph over them. Hence, we no longer have to fight the thought because He battles it for us, and the truth be known, He has already defeated it. Our response is to thank and praise Him for the success. Our spiritual weapons all belong to Christ. As a matter of fact, the heavenly armaments we possess are found in the person of Christ. Therefore, our heavenly weapons are not a thing, but they are a person. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. After we take the thought captive to Christ, it is important to receive His thoughts. Consequently, we can do this because we possess the mind of Christ(1 Corinthians 2:16).

Hebrew 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature………

2 Corinthians 4:4,6  (4) In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the gospel of the glory of God… (6) For God who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ

Lately, I’ve been watching a tv show that deals with healings and various supernatural interventions from God. I love hearing people’s testimony of their miraculous encounters with the Lord. Observing these stories always builds my faith. However, this particular program had a lot of preachers who talked about the latter glory that is coming upon the earth. The latter glory is referenced in the Old Testament book of Haggai (2:9). Simply, Haggai was a prophet who prophesied concerning the glory of Lord filling the temple in the last days. Consequently, I believe that we are in the last days and so did the believers of the New Testament era. In Hebrews (2:1), Paul stated that in these ‘last days’ the Father has spoken to us in His Son. Also, in the book of Acts(2:17), Peter recited Joel’s prophecy, which declared that in the ‘last days’ the Lord would pour His Spirit on all mankind. However, we know that Peter was referring to the prophetic fulfillment of Joel’s declaration when the Holy Spirit filled the believers on the day of Pentecost. Therefore, I believe that Haggai’s prophecy was also speaking about the day of Pentecost, and I believe the glory that Haggai referred to was Jesus. Accordingly, that day the temples of God were filled with the glory of God, which was Christ in them the hope of glory (Col 1:27). You see, I believe that we will see the greatest revival that church has ever known, and as Bishop Chuck always says, “We shouldn’t be waiting on God to move, He is waiting on us(paraphrased).” He has filled His temples with glory, and all creation is waiting for the ‘revealing (coming forth) of the sons of God(Rom 8:19).’

Psalm 84:(1) How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of host! (2) My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God……..(4) How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You…. (10) For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside…..

Psalm 84 is about a person longing and yearning to be in the presence of the Lord and the desire to dwell(live his life) there. When you read the psalm, you can almost feel the burning passion the psalmist had to worship and praise the Lord. It was his ‘one thing’. Thus, the passion translation of verse ten awesomely declares, “For just one day of intimacy with You is like a thousand days of joy rolled into one.”  Sadly, in the days before Christ, a person had to go to the temple and its courts or the tent of meeting to experience the manifest presence of God. However, now that we are in Christ, we not only have unlimited access to the ‘courts’ of the Lord, we actually dwell there. Scripture tells us that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. How cool is that reality. My prayer for you and for me is that we would have the same desire and diligence as the psalmist described in verse 4, which says, “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising you.” Consequently, now that we are in Christ, He is our sanctuary and we are His sanctuary. This truth is emphasized in verse one of psalm 84 in the passion translation, which states, “You find so much beauty in your people.They’re like lovely sanctuaries of Your presence.”

*If your wondering about the title. Psalm 84 was written by the sons of Korah

John 15:4,5  “Abide in Me, and  I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless your abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

*the word abide means to remain

I love this section of scripture. Truth found in the above verses is becoming more and more real to me. Because of health issues and the nature of them, I’ve had to spend a lot of time alone. Consequently, at times I have found myself thinking that I wasn’t bearing fruit for God because I was inactive. I use to think that fruit represented the people to whom I ministered. Concerning this issue, the Lord began to speak to me and to give me new revelation. To abide means to remain, or to stay, and abiding is a term the Holy Spirit chose to help explain our union with Christ. Simply, He abides in us and we in Him because we are in Christ and Christ is in us. Therefore, the fruit that you and I display is the very life and character of Christ Himself. Hence, for us to exhibit fruit, we have to simply abide in Him no matter what we are doing or not doing.  Abiding in Christ means that by faith you and I are resting(true rest is not inactivity but His activity) in His presence and we are trusting Him for provision in every situation. As a result, we can bear fruit even in the most mundane situations.

Romans 10:10 “for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Most of my life, I have read this verse as a means to become a Christian. Even thought that is true, this verse is power packed for daily salvation (the word salvation means deliverance). The way this verse was written in the original Greek will help shed some light. It actually says, “In the heart is belief, and in the mouth is confession.” Simply, in our union with Christ, the Lord has placed belief in our heart and the confession of truth in our mouth, which results in being set free. Consequently, early this morning, the Lord reminded me of this truth. I awakened very early and immediately the enemy was hurling lies, which was causing stress and anxiety. I began to combat the lies by confessing various scriptures concerning my identity in Christ and the victory that He had already accomplished on the cross. As I continued to quote His promises, the peace of God flooded my soul. The confession of the truth with my tongue, brought salvation in that moment, and it made what James shared in his epistle a practical reality-“resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).”

Sometimes you can’t say it better than the originator.  So here are couple of quotes from one of my favorite authors Major Ian Thomas: “The moment you realize that only God can make a man godly, you are left with no option but to find God, and to know God, and to let God be God in and through you.”

“The One who calls you to a life of righteousness is the One who by our consent lives that life of righteousness through you.”

“Man was so engineered by God that the presence of the Creator within the creature is indispensable to His humanity.”

Psalms 34:5 They looked to Him and were radiant (their face shined), and their faces shall never be ashamed (lto wear a shame face)

Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising (rejecting) the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that Jesus hates shame. As revealed in Hebrews chapter twelve, He despises shame. He defeated shame on the cross by rejecting its cancerous effects. Jesus knows what shame does to an individual, and that’s why He doesn’t use guilt or shame as His tools for repentance. In Romans chapter eight verse one, the statement is made that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, which means there is no condemnation in Him. It’s not part of His character. The enemy is the one who tries to make us walk around with a sense of having done something wrong, and he manipulates us into a shameful countenance making us think that we deserve how we feel. However, when those emotions hit us we have to remember that we are in Christ and that there is no shame in Him. Therefore, there should be no shame in us. Shame was defeated on the cross never to rise its ugly head again. As in the above verse, the Lord wants our face to shine as forgiven sons and daughters of His glory. My prayer is that neither you nor I will ever tolerate one moment of shame in our lives. Beloved, we are forever accepted and loved by our Father and our Lord Jesus. Soon. I will soon write a post on how to recognize true conviction from false guilt. Oh yeah,  I just heard this statement last night-“Jesus, is what God thinks about you.”

Lamentations 3:21 This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. 22) The Lord’s loving-kindnesses ‘indeed never cease’ (lit. that we are not consumed), for His compassions (His deep feelings for you and me) never fail. 23) They are new (brand new) every morning; great is your faithfulness (vast faithfulness) 24) “The Lord is my portion (my inheritance, reward, share),” says my soul, “Therefore, I have hope (eager expectation) In Him.” 25) The Lord is good  to those who wait (long, wait expectantly) for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

*Note 1) definition of ‘lovingkindness’ in OT- His devotion; covenant loyalty; faithfulness; kindness; full of mercy; unchanging love; deeds of devotion; favor; and deeds of righteousness. Lovingkindness is all these words combined 2) definition of good in OT- pleasant; beneficial; best; charming; cheerful; delightful; favor; favorable; festive; generous; gracious; happy; precious; pure; pleasing sound; pleases; splendid; sweet; upright; what seems best; worthy

On several occasions during my prayer time, my Bible has literally fallen open to these scriptures in Lamentations. They speak volumes concerning the character and personality of God. Usually, I read through all the meanings of lovingkindness and good, which I have written in the margin space of my Bible, and I allow its truth to bring illumination to my soul. Every time I read from there, I am blown away because of a new revelation of His glory (His character). Every time we get a new revelation from the Lord, we are beholding aspects of His beauty. Also, I am encouraged to know that the Lord has a new word for us everyday. According to the above passages, the Lord has deep feelings for us, so therefore, whatever the circumstance, the Lord has a word that’s fashioned specifically for the situation or for the need of the individual. He knows us so well, and He loves to pour out His goodness and His lovingkindness on us. Take time to read the aforementioned verses, and allow the Lord to minister to you as you meditate on the wonders of His lovingkindness and His goodness.

The other morning I had a vision of a soldier. I thought he may have been Chinese, but I wasn’t sure. The soldier was wearing an ordinary green uniform. One thing that stood out was the headgear he was wearing. It had a red star in the center. I ‘googled’ it, and sure enough it was a Chinese uniform. The hat he was wearing was exactly like the one I researched, so this got my attention. At first, I didn’t understand what the Lord was saying to me through the picture. I was asking the Lord, “Do I pray for China?”, or “Do I pray for the Chinese military”?, or “Are you saying to pray for a particular person in the military?” Throughout the day, I continued to pray for insight and clarification. That evening, the Lord illuminated the mystery. I believe the Lord was saying that in these last days He is raising up the largest army christendom has ever seen. Interestingly, China has the largest military in the world, and it’s called the People’s Liberation Army. As well, It will be a well equipped army flowing in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit to set captives free. I believe it will be an Isaiah 61 army. Also, I believe the red star on the hat represents that the focus will be on the common everyday soldier and not on the generals and big hitters. And of course, red symbolizes power. The Lord is mustering the troops. Too long has the body of Christ sat in the pews being entertained. The time is here for the sleeping military to rise.