"THINK" SERIES: PART 5 - "STINKING VS BIBLICAL THINKING"

"Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5)

What is it about "Stinking Thinking" that brings so many well-adjusted folks, especially Christians these days, to a not-so-good place? 

By the way, what is "Stinking Thinking" anyway? From all reports, the late great speaker, motivator, encourager, and man of God, Zig Ziglar was responsible for coining the phrase. The Cambridge Dictionary describes it as "a bad way of thinking, that makes you believe you will fail, that bad things will happen to you, or that you are not a very good person". That is the official definition. But in real life, it can be any thought derailing right thinking, period.

There is a story told about the Great Reformer Martin Luther. He said one night, the devil showed up at the foot of his bed with a long scroll of every sin ever committed by Luther. 

As he read those off, in Luther's all-too-real vision, the serpent of old, needled Luther and said "Do you remember this sin? ...." Then Luther would respond: "Yes, I do", and so it went. After this, it went on for a long time. Luther recounted that he felt like he was about the slip into hell when the Lord Jesus showed up. The Savior told Luther to tell the devil to go all the way to the end of the scroll and read what was at the bottom of it.

Luther told him exactly those words. The devil kept reading off sins. Finally, Martin Luther said, "Devil, in the Name of Jesus, I demand that you read what is written at the bottom of your scroll". At the mention of THAT Name, the devil did as was told. At the bottom of that long list of Luther's sins was written in red "All the Sins of Martin Luther have been forgiven by the Blood of the Lamb".

The enemy, from whose clutches Jesus saved us, if we know Him as Lord and Savior and are truly born again, knows our thoughts and sins because he put most of them in there. Every thought of greed and lust for money, riches, illicit sexual pleasure, and covetousness, came from him. Every thought that leads to an ungodly action, even for the strongest believer in Jesus, came from him.

He has a habit of throwing past forgiven sins, in our faces and it is pushed in our faces by thoughts that ambush us, in the most awkward or inappropriate of moments - from quiet time in the morning, or in the middle of a meeting at work, or having lunch with a pastor or anything. If we are not careful, this can defeat people who profess to be Christians, but who are not walking in any kind of victory, or deep Faith, or who have lives guided and directed by the Spirit.

Stinking Thinking invites the weak to make blanket statements, away from Scripture, that "God does not love me....or my spouse...or my boss hates me....or I can't stand that nosey neighbor".....and the next thing we know, we are operating on feelings and emotions far outside the bounds of Biblical Thinking.

Some of this Stinking Thinking may even have to do with self-esteem. If someone from your past - an old schoolmate who knew you as a party machine from senior year in high school or college, but now he or she sees that you more than likely, "party like it's 1699 (i.e. none at all), and you let some long-buried emotion resurface, to cause you to doubt your own identity in Christ, then it's time to move to Plan B.

Plan B is the return to Plan Bible and Biblical Thinking. We will look into this more in upcoming posts, but suffice it to say, Martin Luther, at the behest and prompting of King Jesus, has demonstrated the quickest way to grab those resurgent defeatist old BC (before Christ) "replays" and send them to the dungeon of forgotten sins, which Yahweh has stated is, "as far as the east is from the west".

John 1:12 underscores our Authority to respond as Luther did to the devil. It is the quickest way to defeat EVERY form of stinking thinking; horrible thoughts and anything from the pit of hell. The Bible says in this verse "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name".

We take every thought captive, reminding the devil, in the most authoritative statement, that we are Children of God and all our sins - not just those from last week, but those from our past, have been forgiven by the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who defeated the accuser, on that fateful day on Calvary.

Father, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, we thank You that You sent Your Holy and Powerful Son, in that while we were yet sinners, He died for us, that we may be reconciled with You and have Eternal Life in Heaven. Thank You, for giving us the ability to not only take every evil and wicked thought captive but also, for then giving us the capacity and direction to bring these into alignment with Your Holy Word, in Jesus' Strong Name, amen.

Image Courtesy FREEBIBLE IMAGES (Thank you)

MEN OF GOD - ENDANGERED SPECIES OR ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL?

Exactly ten years ago, I did a 75-minute seminar at the long-running Iron Sharpens Iron National Men's conference (St. Louis) called "DEPRESSION- THE SILENT KILLER OF MEN". This followed a couple other teaching workshops I had done at Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs on "LIVING WITH POWER" based on the first book I ever wrote, called TWO MINUTE WARNING.

Both topics may seem completely opposite to each other and in a sense, they are. Both - living the life God has called His men to live and just barely breathing, after getting beaten down by everything ungodly is the opposite ends of the same slide rule of life. 

One way of living is natural and ordained by God. It does, however, come with a caveat. This way of life is the result of a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ as Lord of one's life. There is no other way. What results from this Father-son relationship is God giving us a huge measure of His power. Anyone of us who is born-again can testify it to be true.

He says in John 1:12 (all Scriptures are NASB - New American Standard Bible) "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His Name". There it is - we, who have received Christ have the right/authority to operate in Kingdom Power - right here on earth. If this is done according to Scripture, we can have life and life abundantly.

The opposite is true. We already know that those who have rejected Christ can still have what they think is a perfect life, here on earth while covering up their emptiness with things and fun in the sun right up, until their last days.  However, there are many in the middle who live lives of quiet desperation. They may appear to be normal on the outside, but then plaster over their wounds and emptiness with golf, all kinds of physical pursuits (including illicit affairs etc.) and alcohol. Some fall into gambling and pharmaceuticals, even those of an illegal nature.

In the fall of 2017, I worked with a fellow member of the Gideon Bible Society as we handed out hundreds of college New Testaments, at what was once a Christian university. Three months later, I heard that this man, who was once a pilot of a big corporation, went into his garage, turned on the engine, sealed the garage door and took his own life. There was not thought of the effect on his young family (he was in his low 50's) or testimony. I later heard that he never recovered from being stripped of his job as a pilot and getting grounded. While he was a Christian man, his focus was all wrong - it was on what he DID for a living, not WHO HE WAS in Christ.

Here is where so many men lose it. They may know somewhere in the back of their minds, that there is a purpose to life and it is not the 9 to 5, the mortgage or the college bills. It is preparing for Eternity. Too many ignore the warning signs and especially the Warning Signs from Jesus Christ and the Bible that it is appointed for man to die once, and then the Judgment. This is real. This is some real stuff. 

I am not a professional medical or any such thing as a psychologist. But I know how to study human nature and through the Grace and Spirit of God, I know how the Bible and the Lord has the answers for EVERYTHING which ails humankind. If we would just listen, trust, obey and pray. Amen.
NEXT: WHY MEN DON'T PRAY

SEVEN FAMOUS BIBLE VERSES #4: "FLY LIKE AN EAGLE"

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary (Isaiah 40:31)
What an amazingly powerful, hopeful and encouraging collection of words and sentiments....from the very heart of God!

Recent in-depth surveys of the beliefs of many people of different ages reveal stunning news, which should shock and dismay any right thinking person. It should also make any Christian cringe. The sheer volume of “Nones” (those who believe in nothing or have no faith system) is increasing by leaps and bounds. It is no more so than in Millennials, who learned their “believe-in-nothing-and-everything” from the Generation X-ers, who got their selfishness and “all about me” attitudes from one of the worse generations ever: we Baby Boomers. To be fair, the Baby Boomers came by it honestly. These were children of the so-called “Greatest Generation” who not only survived the Great Depression but won World War II and created the greatest and most prosperous nation in the world.

Therein lies the problem. The adversity of the 1930’s and 1940’s built perseverance and character. The prosperity of the victorious post-World War II boom led to a level of spiritual depravity and moral chaos which will only get worse, with each passing generation. All we need to do is look at the parallel universes of the brave military of the 1960’s and 1970’s against the sex and drug sub-culture, of that same era.

When you combine a western society of practical atheists, where God and His Laws have become ritual for one hour a week (for a declining minority of churchgoers), and a Christian church which does not follow the Compass of Christ, we have hopelessness. We see the fruits of a people with no hope in the increased use of Opioids and the resulting vortex downloads into hades. Suicide among young people has gone through the roof. Social media has coarsened relationships and true fellowship by the share nature of its into hades. Suicide among young people has gone through the roof. Social media has coarsened relationships and true fellowship by the share nature of its free-flowing accessibility and “anonymity”. With Christianity, the Bible and any mention of Jesus kept out of public schools and out of most of the public square in the west, it is no wonder people have no fixed point of reference on which to base their self-worth and eternal future.

Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Still, amidst all of this, comes one of the most famous and inspiring Bible verses of all time (Isaiah 40:31). But God, He gives us a reason why He can be counted on to make such as statement we find in verse 31. Here is what He says:
Verse 28: Because He is the Everlasting - meaning He has been there from Time past, to now to Eternity and was never created but did the creating Himself, He knows all and sees all. He never gets tired or grows weary in all these six thousands years of Creation and attending to the needs and souls of billions of people in all those years. Not just that, but God knows every single detail about us- our thoughts, our hopes, plans, dreams and fears. Because of this incomprehensible superior knowledge of His Creation, His "inscrutable understanding" leads Him to do what is best for each of us, if we would just trust and listen for and obey His direction.

Verse 29a: He does give strength to the weary in our rest - physical and spiritual. We all need food, sleep, exercise and relaxation so we can perform the work which the Lord has given our hands to do. Emotional rest comes when are our hearts are at peace and full of grace and love in the Lord. This encompasses those around us in our families, friends and community. If done right, Emotional well-being leads to this community focusing on the Word of God, its study and application to transform us into the Image of Christ.

Verses 29b-30: There is a barrel of Truth to the statement that God gives power to those who lack. John 1:12 says "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name". That same power is translated from the original Greek in John 1:12 as "dunamis" where we get the word "dynamite" from. Think of the explosive nature of dynamite and this is how God empowers the weak - if we ONLY TRUST IN HIM!

From there, the Lord, through His Holy Word now goes on to say that ANYONE - from young to old, who wait for Him....will then receive the promise of Isaiah 40:31. This "wait for the Lord" or as the King James Versions says so beautifully "they that wait upon the Lord" is crucial. It is an active present tense exhortation as in "those who are actively waiting until they hear from Me or get a clear direction" will.....

So the key is this, for the benefit of you and I - do not get in front or ahead of God, in our haste to make things better for us, because as humans, we are guaranteed to mess it up. But, just a little while longer and we "....will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary!"

Is there anything more amazing than this truth?! God is good - all the time!

PRAYER AUTHORIZED.....THEN ENERGIZED

The great men of prayer in the late 19th century were humble, yet giants of the Faith like circuit-rider Preacher Robert S. Sheffey and the prolific Christian author E.M. Bounds. Bounds is is known for his timeless works on Prayer, left behind for all believers of all ages to be encouraged....simply by reading his books!

Bounds said the following, as a man of God who had tremendous energy and passion in prayer. He said  "Prayer as spiritual energy makes way for, and brings into practical realization, the promises of God.  God's promises covers all things that pertain to life and godliness and that have to do with time and eternity".

The words "Prayer as Spiritual Energy" here is intriguing, if you think about it. Twice  in the Bible, Jesus said in Matthew Chapter 6 where this energy comes from. He says in Verse 6 in part "....pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly". Then again in Verse 18 (in part), Jesus confirms that "your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly". 

Putting aside the word "reward" here in these two verses spoken by Christ, we instead need to focus on the Person Who gives the rewards - Almighty God, Father of Lights, Heaven and Earth! This is crucial as we ramp up and fortify our prayer lives, in these uncertain days and times. It is God Himself Who looks down on His subjects (we); and empowers His children via the same Power that raised Jesus from the Dead - the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual energy comes ONLY from Him and without filter. Sin can be an obstacle, but the Energy is always available.

Therefore, one side of the equation is in place - the Holy Spirit of God, in us. He, the Spirit is a gentleman and never imposes His Will on the born-again Christian. He sits in wait to be allowed to empower and relay the fulfillment of the Promise with Which He came, when we first accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 

The other side of this equation depends entirely on us. It is incumbent upon the Christian to respond to our Generous, Gracious, Good Father with the same passion with which He has imputed to us. Our example is the Lord Jesus Whose Passion for Abba led Him to pray "Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed is Thy Name!" This manner of praying is especially beneficial to us in times of despair. When we get that scary medical report or financial disaster hits or there is a family tragedy, do we retreat and pull back our praise, love and adoration for our God? No! Ten times no!

Here is where our Spiritual Energy needs to match up to the Embedded Energy, courtesy the Holy Spirit, so that the praise and glory of God can get us through this unto victory! Here is where we prove the statement by the great prayer warrior EM Bounds to be true! Here again, is what he said in part: "Prayer as spiritual energy makes way for, and brings into practical realization, the promises of God". There it is - PRACTICAL realization of our God Who promises to never leave or forsake us. Therefore, we must not retreat but go bold with God, full of passion in our pleadings.

If we can come to that realization - that the God Who saved us, authorized us (John 1:12) to approach the Throne of Grace FREELY, then we can remain fueled with high octane Holy Ghost power towards a passionate prayer life. Then we can shout out, with dunamis - dynamic power, what the psalmist said here in Psalm 138:1-3:
138 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.

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THE LORD'S PRAYER- THE MODEL EXPLAINED: PART 3

Thy Kingdom Come on Earth as it is in Heaven

If a person is in distress and cries out to God in pain, panic or with persistent problems,  how does this phrase from the Model Prayer fit into the body of our prayer?

This is a great question, because when the Apostle Peter wassinking on the stormy Galilee Sea (after walking on the water for a spell), hedid not have time to go through formal recognition of Abba Father as allpowerful and all Holy. Peter just yelled out “Lord, save me!” and he wasrescued from drowning by Jesus.

What Peter did here, was recognize the Power of Christ Who was walking ON the stormy sea and OVER the high waves towards them (looming larger than life). He had no other choice. The facts were right before His Eyes. He already knew Jesus was sinless and spoke the hallowed and holy Word of the Father. These are a given for the Christian, but to get to this point, we have to have been with Jesus like Peter had. This comes from knowing His Word and following the dictates of the Holy Spirit, if you are really born-again.

The Spirit had revealed to Peter just Who this Man was. His (Jesus’) sovereign rule over the elements was observed before when He calmed the storm, after the disciples woke Him from sleep to rescue them. The Kingdom had come. The Messiah was at hand. The Faith of the  disciples needed working on, but they had seen the miracles of the Loaves and Fishes and knew He was King.

Do we? Do we recognize Him as He is? Do we believe the scriptures where the Apostle John fell at His Feet in Revelation 1 when he (John) saw Jesus as He really is – from eternity past to forever? If we do….and if you’re saved, you have that ability, then we are living right now as Kingdom people.  How is this possible? When you and I were BORN AGAIN, we not only became a NEW Creation in Christ but God imputed and embedded His Holy Spirit in us as a seal of His promise, until the Day of Redemption.

Whether a truly regenerated and reborn Christian believes this or not, it is so. We are thus indwelled by the same Spirit of God Who self-existed from Eternity Past. He is the same Holy Spirit Who hovered over the Waters in Genesis 1 and executed the plan of the Creator Yahweh (Jesus). He is the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead on Resurrection (or Easter) Sunday morning, on the Third Day. He – Holy Spirit= is the Guarantee of our inheritance as Kingdom people.

So when Jesus includes this phrase in His model prayer, He is telling us that we have the permission and power and authority, as declared to us from John 1:12. Given our current Kingdom status, we can there therefore pray in confidence…..just like Peter did in John “Lord, save me!” When you pray that, He automatically tune in and waits.

Father in the Strong, Holy and Mighty Name of Jesus,  King of the Universe and Ruler of all things, thank You, thank You, Lord! We are so grateful beyond words, that You win all Your power, majesty and wisdom would choose us to be Your Kingdom children! This is beyond belief and beyond comprehension, Lord! Lord as we pray to make it through each day, in these evil last days, we also anticipate the Return of the Lord Jesus , to rule the earth and make all things right. We look and long for that incredible Day of the Lord, will all will be revealed and we say “COME, LORD JESUS! Establish Thy Kingdom, in Your Name we pray. Amen

PART TWO: THE LORD'S PRAYER & ITS JEWISH PARENT~~~

SPEAK LIFE, LESSON 2 - WITHOUT WAX!

"So that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:10)
We cannot approve that which we do not know but one thing is certain: to

function in the Kingdom of God, we must KNOW the Heartbeat and Mind of Him Who sits on the Throne. Subsequently, there is no other way than to know His Word by daily reading of the Bible as well as praying without ceasing.

We must know the Mind of Christ and to know that, the first qualification is to belong to Him...to be saved. But beyond being justified and made right by the Savior, we have to be listening to Him and not trying to skate into heaven under the wire like most Christians alive to do. We have been given the authority and power (John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name). That is what the word RIGHT means in John 1:12. Therefore, because we do that the "dunamis" (original work in Greek), we may approve and make a judgment on what we support, link arms with and ultimately pray for.

There are many things in Christianity today, which are not just outright sins but hidden foxes which can damage the entire person and thus the Body of Christ. One of them is doing nothing in the face of evil, which itself IS evil! There is a reason our walk, talk and prayers have to be full of wisdom, discernment and powerful Word of God. The reason is - the Day of Christ is coming, where the majority of mankind will NOT stand. They have heard the Word preached many times during their lives and not only rejected but rebelled against God and His/our Savior Jesus Christ.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8)

So, in brief, this is how we pray for that we may, and those for whom we pray, WILL remain sincere and blameless as we anticipate the rapidly approaching Judgment Day:
Pray from Philippians 4:8
-  Whatever is honorable. Honor is in short supply these days...from the top of leadership to the schools and even churches. The word here is "semna" - weighty, serious, dignified, of great importance. Pray for honor in families and thus communities and then pray and demand honor from leaders of all strata.
-  Whatever is right. This literally means what is right FIRST and foremost in the Eyes of God. Pray for all God's people to walk before Him with transparent lives which will not bring dishonor to His Name. Too many are living ungodly lives steeped in the corrupt culture and then calling themselves Christians, thereby leaving the unsaved to think "if so and so is a Christian, I want nothing to do with Christianity". Of all the items in Philippians 4:8 this may be the most significant as it speaks to the attribute the Apostle of God speaks of in Philippians 1:10. This is the attribute of being sincere and blameless. If our conduct causes another person to turn from God and Jesus Christ, who later dies in their sins, there will be an accounting for that on the Day of Christ! 
-  Therefore, pray for authenticity in our walk before God and our fellow citizens, friends and families. The key word from God in Verse 10 above is SINCERE because if we are sincere, we will be blameless and not actively sinning and rebelling in the Face of a Holy God! The word sincere may soon soapy and sweet but it is not. The word sincere is derived from two Latin words (sine- without; cera - wax). What Roman furniture makers kept doing was filling in flaws, cracks and mistakes with wax to make it look good rather than fix the problems. This fueled a backlash and the few genuinely honest furniture makers would advertise their furniture as "Sine Cera" - without wax...and therefore, without a manufacturer's flaw! This led to the English word - sincere....without character flaw....and without blame!

This is the only way to stand before God on Judgment Day. The amazing thing is this - we cannot do it on our own! We just cannot do it - only Christ is blameless...but we can be found "without wax" and thus, sincere! As we pray today as we walk before God and man today, let us search and pray away the dross and the phoniness and the facades and let us pray for each other and ourselves to live transparent lives.

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY TWENTY FOUR:
VERSES:

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."....2 Timothy 1:7

PRAYER:(Against Anxiety, Day 6)

Father God we are so grateful that You have removed all obstacles that stand in the way of our reconciling with You, to remove the guilt and stand from the Fall of Adam, in the Garden. We are so grateful that through the Precious Shed Blood of the Ancient of Days, the ONLY perfect and acceptable Sacrifice for sin, that we are able to even stand in Your Holy Presence and not be cast aside into outer darkness, where doth lieth weeping and gnashing of teeth. All You ask in return for this Mighty Grace and Favor is our obedience to You, oh Most High, and surrender to All Your have in store for us. And Lord what You have and plan for those who love You, is so much better if the rest of us would just stop, listen and learn!

Who is like You, and who can out-give, out-love, out-grace You, oh Sovereign One? No one! You take away our fear and anxious moments by the strong whisper of Your Voice, as You direct us back to Your Written Word where You said "fear not" so many times, it is the most powerful exhortation in the Scripture! In our troubles and weakness, we overlook these things and subjugate our faith into second place, choosing to be like the lost of humanity and operate in the paradigm of fear. While, oh God, this may a natural human reaction, You did not call us or expect Your elect to do this sort of thing, but to trust and believe.

For that reason, You emphasized again that You did NOT give us a spirit, bent, inclination, heart and the ability to focus just so we would cower in spiritual and natural fear, when You - the Lord of Heaven's Armies Who can destroy every evil thing with one Word, one Command, is for us! We know this, we know You have us covered by the Blood and by the Angels, so help us to have the triple portion of Faith necessary to operate in this way every single moment of every day of every week and forever more, until You call us home.

You called us 'sons of God' and gave us Power (John 1:12) and thus, we already are embedded with Your dynamic, fluid Kingdom authority to beat back the enemy with the same word - Prayer! We must take authority over our situation, in Jesus' Name and then that authority will be thus be our connection to the Source, so You can then execute the result You desired in any particular situation. And we do this in Love oh God, the same love, agape, unconditional and forgiving love You showed us as we wallowed in our sin before Christ rescued us. None of this is possible - operating out of AND under the Authority of Christ in love, power and boldness if we are not under control, in sound mind and full conscious, aware, obedient and knowledgeable to the Who You are and what You are accomplishing in our lives.  Father God, give us the soundness and clarity of mind, that we, Your people, keep our collective heads on in cool calmness, being vigilant and alert so that when everything starts falling down around us, we can be under the unction of the Holy Spirit, in full control to lead others to You Way - the Perfect Way. We ask this through the Mighty Undefeated Name of our Lord and Commander of the Universe - Jesus, our Soon Coming King. AMEN

DAY 17 - CAN PRAYER SAVE AMERICA?

I know exactly what some folks are thinking - "Is this a workshop on prayer? Aren't we supposed to be praying to stop the decline of the dollar, or to stop abortion in America or this or that candidate? Why all of this, day after day?" Good question!!!

For me, being many years as an intercessor and moving "onward" as a Christian soldier, marching as to war, with the Cross of Jesus, moving on before, I know exactly what it takes for my prayer to be heard by the Lord. It is not running out there, without the proper foundation, "binding up this or that demon" or "casting those five demons" into the pit or wishing evil on those with whom we disagree. That is a recipe for personal disaster, especially if that kind of intercessor is not walking in the Light and/or leaves his/her family's flank exposed to hits from the enemy!!! I have seen that too many times in the prayer movement. The result is that many of our saints burn out after a few quixotic forays into spiritual warfare, as I just described.

The only way, is to know to Whom we're praying; why we are praying and what sort of weapon, with which to show up on the battlefield! We last looked into claiming the inheritance and power (from John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name"). We claim this by praying in Faith. This is important for Heaven to hear. Faith crowns our relationship with Jesus, the God Man Who is our Savior. So therefore, starting this week, we get into the heat of the battle. 

Starting tomorrow, we address the issue of Religious Liberty, and the war against it, here in the US and elsewhere. So Father, in the Name of Jesus, thank You for giving us this Day which You have made and we completely rejoice in the Fact that You have empowered us with Your Authority, as children of God, to represent You, to worship You and to come to You with our petitions and requests for any issue on our earth. Our desire is to glorify Your Name by helping others through our actions, good works and prayers and to pray for Your intervention in these things which have been corrupting our nation or Your work - whether it is some politician telling a church body in America they have to pay for abortive pills or some murderous outfit like Marie Stopes starting abortion clinics in Belfast or the decadence on our TV screens - Lord we live to serve and obey You and thank You that You hear us, when we approach the Throne of Grace in the Spirit of Holiness, Faith and Trust and we ask this in the Strong and Mighty Name of Jesus, amen and amen.

THE DAY IRON FLOATED

 1 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there." And he answered, "Go." 3 Then one of them said, "Be pleased to go with your servants." And he answered, "I will go." 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, "Alas, my master! It was borrowed." 6 Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. 7 And he said, "Take it up." So he reached out his hand and took it. (2 Kings 6:1-7)

Elisha was quite the prophet and man of God. As the successor to the great Elijah, who was taken up to Heaven in Chariots of Fire, he appeared to do even more miracles than his master. The key was - he did it in the Power and Strength of the Lord.

Here we have the situation where the heavy piece of an ax made of iron (similar to the picture above) fell into the water and sank. But look at what Verse 6 says "THEN, the MAN OF GOD"....this is qualification. This is the day when iron floated to the top. This is the day when something impossible materialized.

In your life this morning...a life of which we are completely on borrowed time from the Keeper of Time - God the Father - do you have a sinking feeling of things just heading for the bottom? 

Do you have feeling of powerlessness as you watch it happen? 

Do you wish someone or "some thing" would just stir up the water enough so that you can at least - if not swim further down the road - that you would stay afloat?

Well all of this is possible, if the Spirit of God so indwells you that you can say "(where did it fall (verse 6)! If you are so walking in the Light of the Lord that He has top billing on your marquee, you too can cut off that stick, throw it into the water and make iron float! It is not going to be easy, but He really has given us that capacity! Yes, He did...and still does - if you and I seek His forgiveness, repent, turn away from our inner sinful self...and instead TURN TO HIM! If we accept, trust and recognize that He alone is Lord, we too can walk daily without that 'sinking feeling'. Listen to what the Scripture promises and says about us who are saved and being saved....and this is the thought to hang your hat on, in this day of Drought and Despair: 

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12 KJV)