Weapons of our Warfare

On May 18, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

1 Corinthians 10: 4

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

God’s Word, praise; these are the ultimate weapons of our warfare. Ephesians 6: 17 tells us very clearly that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. In other words, our weapon is the Word, and by extension, our words when God’s Word is in our mouths. As we speak positive declarations of our beliefs which are constructed from the Word of God, we are doing battle against the things of this world which would limit or even harm us. By exchanging the word “fortresses” with the word “strongholds” the NIV translation reveals that some of the foes of faith are the strongholds within our own minds. These can be anything: a belief, lack of belief, a thought process, lack of education, etc. Those strongholds are the targets of transformation. Through transformation we discard old thought and habit patterns which are generated from our thoughts and allow faith thoughts which are in accordance with the Word to reveal the beautiful butterfly within. Our words, then, become powerful weapons as confessions of faith.

Let me show you this in a real-world example. Recently I contracted a virus which caused a rash. Now, I know that our Father protects me day and night and I truly believe He is the greatest protection against Covid. I am grateful that He has protected me from contracting the coronavirus, but how or why did I get this virus? When the rash didn’t go away right away, I went to the doctor who diagnosed it and told me it would likely take 6 – 8 weeks to heal. Oh my! I was not pleased to hear that. Of course, I was already praying for healing, but I really knuckled down to prayer after that diagnosis.

In conversation with Father, I found a problem in me. I actually wrote about this recently in the Word of the Day entitled Victory in Jesus and again in Fortress Dweller. Each of those devotionals encourages us to speak the Word of God over our lives. Our testimony is how we overcome situations and problems. The smart thing to do is to speak faith statements continuously and to endlessly thank and praise God for all that He daily gives. I had fallen down on the job. I was not confessing my health. I was not daily thanking God for maintaining my immunity and health. So, in my time with the Lord, He showed me that I wasn’t putting the shield around me daily. The first thing I did was to repent. Repenting amounts to apologizing to the Father for not doing what he said to do or for doing what He said not to do. I realized I had not been doing what He has taught me.

As soon as I repented, it felt like something that was standing between me and my healing was removed. Now, that is not to say that God was withholding anything from me, but repentance unblocked whatever was preventing me from receiving my healing. I prayed again for Father to heal me. In the next days I heard a song about healing continually coming up in my spirit. The lyric was, “The healing power of God is working in me, right now.” The good news is that the rash has all but disappeared. It has only been two weeks. God healed me by showing me that there was a spiritual block preventing me from receiving my healing.

The moral of the story is, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony,” (Revelation 12: 11). Get your testimony in the game. Start professing God’s promise over your life making daily positive, present tense declarations of God’s Word. Then, you will live in triumph in His name, by His grace.

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Weapons of Praise

On May 17, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 149: 6       TPT

God’s high and holy praises fill their mouths, for their shouted praises are their weapons of war!

This is simple. Praise is a weapon. Last Tuesday’s devotional was a reminder that we must clothe ourselves with Jesus’ victory; that his victory isn’t automatically operating in all the situations of our lives (Victory in Jesus, May 11, 2021). Instead, we must acknowledge his victory and then apply it to our circumstances. He is victorious over everything which attempts to plague us. However, it is up to us to put on his victory.

Here is one of the most powerful ways I know to clothe yourself with his victory. Put on the garments of praise. I wrote in Strong Leader (WOTD, May 10, 2021) that praise is a power tool for repairing the broken things. When we praise, we release the power of heaven to work in our lives. Praise anoints our lives with the oil of the Holy Spirit, who is our go along, our helper. He walks right beside us all the time waiting for us to give the Word so he can command his forces to work in our lives. This is so much bigger than most people know. If we understood the power of heart-felt praise, we would become praising machines. The angels of God would swirl around us because they are attracted to praise of the Father. I imagine nothing harmful would be able to get to us because of the whirlpool of angels surrounding us. What a beautiful, nay, glorious image that is.

I invite you to ponder this today. See yourself surrounded by angels bathing themselves in the glory of God which arises from loving praise. Selah!

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No Weapon!

On April 24, 2020   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 54:17

“No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.”

I journaled this verse recently and learned quite a bit from what the Lord revealed to me. What this verse gives us, God says, is our heritage. We are entitled to His vindication and victory. Here is what God said to me about this verse. I hope you enjoy it.

Father, what would you say to me about this verse?

“People tend to limit this verse. They rarely address the second part at all. Even the first phrase gets limited in the minds of many. Some will read this verse and only think about human foes. Others think I was only referring to the weapons of Satan. All weapons of destruction are ultimately tools of Satan. He is the destroyer. It is he who desires to kill, steal and destroy life, liberty and joy. So, concern not yourself with who made the weapon.

Next, recognize that all weapons which are formed against you shall fail. It does not matter who or what made the weapon. It matters not how it was formed or when. Regardless of the weapon or its fabricator, there is no weapon which will prosper against you. Anything which destroys, steals or kills is a weapon of destruction. People concern themselves too much with who is wielding the weapon and lose sight of the fact that it is a destructive force. My children should recognize the weapon and speak against that. Don’t worry about whether it is a tool of Satan or a construct by another person. Ultimately, it must bow to my authority in you. You speak to the destructive force whether it be a virus, a storm, a person or even an organization.

Take notice that my children are to raise their voices and condemn the weapon. That includes, but is not limited to, tongues which accuse you. These two phrases are combined in the same sentence because they are speaking to the same issue. They should not be considered two separate thoughts but rather two comments speaking to the same point.

Children, listen to My instruction. Speak to the mountain. Speak in faith and in the authority which I have invested in you and the mountain must move. Don’t beg me to do something. I have. I have given you authority to remove the mountain into the sea. Know of my abiding presence within you. Connect with the power I already put in you and speak to the destructive weapon. Tell it to go into the sea, or into the fire and be destroyed in the name of Jesus. You have the authority to tell it what to do and it must obey. Hear me and move in faith.”

If you would like to see more of what God has to say about specific Bible verses, go to our website and click on the tile titled “Journaling with Ivey.”

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Gospel Boots

On August 29, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 8:37           (NIV)

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

In 2002, I went through a terrible time. It was months’ and months’ worth of crazy challenges. Just one of the situations I had to deal with was three car accidents in as many weeks. Then there were the big national banks whose checks to the Law Firm bounced. It went on and on like this, one thing after another. Then my pastor reminded me of Isaiah 54: 17 which reads, “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.”

That was the beginning of my breakthrough. I needed to be reminded that Jesus had made a way for me to overcome this turmoil. I began to recall the Word to my mind and mouth. It was if a ray of light broke through the darkness and all I had to do was follow it. Then I was able to open wide the crack through which that light shown and my life resurrected out of the chaos.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that I saved me but in remembering what Jesus had already done for me I was able to stand against the storms that were battering my life. I didn’t have to stand there and get battered by the storms, I had the rock and as soon as I began standing on the rock again, those storms had nothing for me and they went away. It is just as amazing and exciting looking back on it as it was then. I took quite a beating until I realized that my Father and my Jesus were well able to protect me and to defeat every weapon the enemy sent against me. I don’t know, but it seems like the devil just realized he couldn’t get at me any longer so, as he did Jesus, he left me for a more opportune time (Luke 4: 13). I am not saying I am bullet proof, I just have a clearer understanding of Jesus’ victory in my life and that I don’t have to tolerate the devil’s shenanigans. Now it is a matter of applying what I have learned.

It is a difficult paradigm to grasp in its fullness. There is a balance which must be struck between understanding that Jesus has already defeated the devil and knowing what we must do in order to live in that victory. It almost seems like it should be one or the other. If Jesus beat the devil, why do we have to fight at all? Here is an illustration that may help.

If you sue someone and win your case the Judge will enter a judgment in your favor. That judgment represents the victory. However, until the order is executed, it makes no practical impact. You have a judgment in your favor the minute the judge rules but the effect of it is not immediate. It will be of little or no value if not executed. This is the way it is with Jesus’ victory. You already have a judgment against the devil. You have an order entered in your favor against every one of his tricks, attacks or fiery missiles. However, if you do not enforce, or ask the authorities to enforce, your rights under the order then there is little practical effect.

We have the victory. Jesus already won it for us but we must hold that order up in the devil’s face and refuse him access to our lives. We have the choice whether to enforce the judgment or not. If we do not, the devil will run all over us. This is why knowing the truth is so important. Once you know that he does not have any legal authority over you, then you can push back and resist him. When you resist, he will flee as he did with Jesus and as he did even with me. You have to know your authority though. When you do, you are the overcomer Jesus gave you the right to be.

There is no demon or devil in hell that can overcome the blood of Jesus and you knowing that is the power of Christ in you. Overcoming the schemes of the devil is a partnership between you and Jesus. So, put on your armor. Shine up your gospel boots and stand against the schemes of the devil. Put him to flight because the one who is in you, already won. Yahoo!

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Word Power  

On December 13, 2016   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 4: 1 – 13

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.  And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry.  And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”  And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”  And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment.  And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore if you worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”  And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”  And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You to guard you.’ And ‘On their hands they will bear You up lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’”  And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

This is an important story because it shows how the devil tempts and how Jesus fought those temptations.  Ephesians 6: 17 says that the weapon we have is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  Jesus, being our model, demonstrated how to defeat the enemy.  I want you to see and recognize the weapon of His warfare.  Jesus defeated Satan with the Word of God.  Notice that after Jesus fended off two of Satan’s attempts with the Word, Satan quoted from the 91st Psalm to try to deceive Jesus.  But Jesus knew the Word.  He knew it so well that he could see the perversion of the word that the devil attempted to sneak past Him.

There is no other weapon that would have defeated the devil then, nor is there any other weapon that will defeat him now.  The Word, is the sword that the Father has given us.  It is well able to defeat the enemy but you have to know how to wield it.  Each time the devil threw a temptation at Christ, Jesus countered that temptation with, “It is written.”  It is a good thing, then, that Jesus knew the Word.  He used the Word itself, not just his knowledge of the Word, to combat the devil.  Jesus did not rely on His own strength, His own knowledge or His own wit to defeat the devil.  No, He used the Word of God.  He did not argue with the devil.  He just quoted the scripture to him.

Today’s passage brings us a very important message.  If we are to defeat the devil and his minions we must first give attention to the Word.  If you don’t study the Word then you are unarmed and you really don’t want to fight the enemy unarmed.  Further, we need to understand that Jesus did not fight with or argue with the devil.  He did not rely on His position as the Son of God.  He was a man and in all ways tempted as are we and he had to resist the devil with the same tools that are available to us.  He simply quoted the Word to the devil.  He did not enter into a debate with him.  Jesus made the Word of God the final authority and the wielding of that Word defeated the devil.  We must all learn to do this too.  Read the Bible.  Arm yourself with the living sword of the Spirit.  Then when the devil gets in your face, just start quoting scripture.  You will see for yourself that the devil cannot stand up to the Word.  He will have to flee from you just like he did from Jesus.

 

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Big Guns

On July 16, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 5: 44

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Okay, now we are talking about serious spiritual warfare. This verse doesn’t look like warfare though, does it? None the less, this is where the rubber meets the road. When the enemy is all around you and it feels like even the house is falling down on you then start praying. Sometimes the pressure on you is so heavy that it is hard to pray. I understand that. Just come up with something real simple that you can say each time you feel overwhelmed. Here is an example, “Father, I forgive them and ask you to forgive them. I pray that you bless them and meet their needs.” Then every time that feeling comes in your gut just turn your thoughts to our beloved Father and pray those words.

Jesus gave this scripture for us, not for them. He said “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16: 33 NIV). This is one of the ways that he is leading us from trouble to overcoming. Trouble comes but Jesus is our victory. He has already provided the means of triumph. He spent his time on earth teaching us those means. So when you read that you should pray for your enemies, take heart because Jesus is leading you to the victory. Glory!

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