Getting ready for war!!!

Getting ready for war!!!

Below is an excellent devotion for many of us today.

Whatever you are facing, God’s battle plan is always intended to put the Sword in your hand, in order that you may do battle!

Don’t wait for God to come and do it for you.

For us to gain the victory, in whatever we are facing, we must first recognize that Christ has already won our victory over ALL our battles at Calvary’s Cross… and when Jesus said it was finished, He meant just that!

However that doesn’t mean you won’t have a battle to fight and that Satan will just roll over for you and play dead… not at all!

In fact quite the opposite will happen, as the enemy, as many of you I am sure already know, will pull out all stops, and literally fight you tooth and nail, toothless as he is, but nevertheless a very good bluffer; who will give you every reason why, in the natural, through your circumstances and your feelings, why you are going to lose, or your sickness will get worse, or you won’t be able to pay your bills, or you name it… but it’s all a lie!

The challenge for us is which report are we going to believe and except as truth? Our life experience teaches us one thing, and that is to trust what we’ve always trusted, and have been taught to trust all of our life, and that is our own perception, and our understanding of the way we perceive our circumstances to be, without the benefit of what God has to say!

God’s way for us to deal with these battles is to first consult the Operations Manual, the Bible, for direction and wisdom, and get your council from God first!.

Having done that, we then begin to meditate on whatever promises we find in God’s Word that speaks to our situation; and then having found those promises, we then begin to pray and supplicate, and do what the old timers call “Pray Through; at which point when we know that we know that our prayers are heard, and that we have our answer, then we begin to thank God, in advance of any sight/sense evidence that anything has changed, and we remain there until the answer comes.

Now in this process, the enemy, your natural man, your flesh, your mind, your aunts, your uncles, and most all your friends and family, will all say you are nuts, and that this is impossible; and therein is the rub, or the test if you will, which God has ordained for us… in order to build up our faith muscles and teach us how to win victory over the enemy of our soul, in whatever battles we fight!

The enemy will use every possible method to discourage your faith and your optimism; and he will do this all in order to try and get you to quit; but that is the time to hang tight, and don’t you dare give up… and don’t let yourself get melancholy and discouraged either!

So here again is the battle plan: go to the Word first; find a promise there that matches your situation or need; then use that Word, even as Jesus did in the wilderness, as you Sword, in order to battle the enemy; and most importantly keep your armor on; which armor starts with our helmet of salvation; our breastplate of righteousness and our belt of truth; then having our feet shod in the gospel of peace, we go into battle with our shield of faith held up, out in front of us!

You must maintain this position until your answer comes; and most importantly, don’t forget the thanksgiving and praising part of the battle; as was exemplified for us in the Bible, as it was always the tribe of Judah (meaning praise), who would lead Israel into the battle; and  they did so while literally playing their instruments and singing their praises unto God, right out in front no less, in the battlefield. Selah.

So let us go and do likewise! 🙂

Shalom,

Skip Barland

From: CFAITH Online [mailto:newsletters@lists.cfaith.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2010 3:00 AM
To: theskipper@cox.net
Subject: CFAITH Daily Devotion

Pick Up Your Sword

By Kenneth Copeland

“But thou, O man of God…fight the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:11-12).

When you’re up against the wall, don’t start begging God to break through it for you. That’s not the way He works. He’ll give you the plan. He’ll give you the power. And He’ll guarantee the victory. But your hand, not His own, is the instrument He’s going to use to get the job done.

You’re going to have to stretch forth your hand by speaking and acting on the Word, even when circumstances are against you.

God gave me a striking revelation of that over 30 years ago through a vision He gave me in Beaumont, Texas. I was preparing to minister in a service there, spending some time in prayer, when suddenly I saw myself standing in the pulpit of the church. Looking up, I saw a dragon – a horrible, ugly thing – poke his head through the front door of the church.

As he came into the church, his body expanded like a balloon, filling the whole room. He was snorting fire and smoke. When, in the vision, he turned it on me, he almost burned my clothes!

As I fell back onto the floor, I saw Jesus standing nearby with a sword in His hand. Why doesn’t He do something about this? I thought. Can’t He see I’m hurting?

But He didn’t move. He just stood by with a frown on His face. I could tell He was really put out with me.

The Bible says God was not pleased with those who were overthrown in the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:5). And He wasn’t pleased with me either as I lay there on my back in defeat.

Then Jesus held out the sword to me and pointed at the dragon. The look on His face said, Get up!

I reached up to catch hold of the sword and an instant before I touched it, Jesus turned it loose.

The sword stayed in midair of its own accord. I grabbed it and began to pull myself up. Not only did it hold firm, but it began to lift me!

I stood and touched the dragon’s chin with my sword and it split him from one end to the other. It laid him open right before my eyes. In amazement, I looked down at the sword. Why haven’t I used this before? I thought.

Don’t wait for God to slay the dragon in your life. You have the sword of the spirit, the all-powerful Word of the Living God, at your fingertips. Pick it up and use it today!

Scripture Reading: Joshua 11:5-23

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