Thursday, February 25, 2010

VICTORY OVER LIES!

Have you ever felt viciously pursued by the enemy? At every turn he is there, lurking in shadows, whispering venomous lies. I sit in silence driving my car, and he is at my side, trying to convince me my life is of no worth, that God is finished, that love is not mine. LET ME TELL YOU, LOVE IS MINE and I am loved with the only LOVE I will ever need: Jesus Christ's!
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Psalm 60:11
Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.

Psalm 64:1
[ For the director of music. A psalm of David. ]
Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the
enemy.

Psalm 13:2
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
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I have loved Jesus for years and in different seasons of my life, I have watched as he has claimed area after area of my life. This past season, God has pushed me further then ever! I have seen Jesus CLAIM my life, move MOUNTAINS, CRUSH SNAKES in my path, HURL BOULDERS away from crushing me, DO MIGHTY AND WONDERFUL THINGS! I have seen God bless me and love. I have been honored to even occasionally be used by God!

And I am thrilled.

If you've followed my posts, a lot of this has to do with obedience, and listening to God speak to me... trying my very best to trust him, to listen, to obey. I do not always succeed, but when I do- it is Christ within me that is succeeding! HE IS DOING IT ALL! Left to my own defenses, I would have withered into dust by now. Christ is powerful! SO POWERFUL!

As Christ has blessed me, I have felt the enemy's anger brood and boil in the darkness. Even as I write this, he fumes in fury! IN the past month, Christ has urged me to take up his sword (the HOLY living WORD of GOD!) and battle LIE after LIE! In the beginning, I prayed, I sought the prayer and help of other Christians and cried out to God...

WHO HEARD ME!

Psalm 107:6
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

And you know what he said? "PICK UP YOUR SWORD!" (He used SEVERAL methods to deliver this message, and it came at the perfect time.)

Listen to some of these lies! Listen to God's responses!
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LIE 1:
Years ago, when you needed God the most, he abandoned you. He let you get hurt by men. Men are not trustworthy and neither is God. You really can not trust anyone.

TRUTH 1-A: I can TRUST GOD!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

TRUTH 1-B: God did NOT abandon me!
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Joshua 1:5
No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.


Psalm 27:10

Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Psalm 94:14
For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

TRUTH 1-C: God has DRAWN me nearer to him with every ache of my heart!
Jeremiah 31:3
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

TRUTH 1-D: The Lord wants to FIGHT for me!
Exodus 14:14
14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

The TRUTH IS: God never left me. He wants to RESTORE me! There were times when I was hurt as a child and as an adult, but God spared me in SO many ways! And he has turned those wounds into beautiful scars! Scars that now shine with his glory and his RESTORATION!

Isaiah 61:3
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes
,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.


AMEN!
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LIE 2:
You have been rejected by many people you have loved. Obviously, you are lacking where there is need..you are not enough. Not only are you not enough in SO many areas, you are also too much! You need too much, love too much, want too much out of life! Why can't you just take what you get and be satisfied?

TRUTH 2:
Psalm 139:13-18
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.


15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!


18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
***

When I looked at the original translation for verse 17, I saw that this could also be worded, "How precious concerning meare your thoughts, O God!" WOW! When God thinks of me, he is thinking wonderful things. Psalm 139 is an amazing scripture talking about how much God loves us! How valuable he considers us! HIS PRECIOUS thoughts about us, OUTNUMBER the grains of sand! Have you ever been to the sand dunes, let alone the ocean? WOW!

The Second lie deals with self-worth! We are not enough, or are too much! DOESN'T EVERY woman feel this way at some point?!?!
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LIE 3:
Your sins are too dark to be covered by God. He will forgive you and let you into heaven, but your life will be forever marred because of the mistakes you have made. No good man will ever REALLY love you. You will never be good enough.

TRUTH 3:
HE HAS SET YOU FREE...YOU ARE FREE, INDEED!
John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 3:17-19
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.[a] 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world

Isaiah 62
Zion's New Name
1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet,
till her righteousness shines out like the dawn (until you shimmer)
her salvation like a blazing torch.

2 The nations will see your righteousness,
and all kings your glory(your beauty);
you will be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.


3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand (the crown of creation,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

4 No longer will they call you Deserted,
or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah (my delight is in her),
and your land Beulah (married);
for the LORD will take delight in you,
and your land will be married.

5 As a young man marries a maiden (he pursues her, romances her),
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride (you are lovely),
so will your God rejoice over you. (emphasis added taken from "Captivating" by Stasi Elderedge)

God doesn't just want to SAVE us, although he is the SAVIOR and has promised that if we accept him. He also wants to REDEEM us! RESTORE us!
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LIE 4:
Being thin is not safe. Whenever you have been physically beautiful in the past, men have tried to devour you. If you lose weight or make an effort to be aesthetically pleasing, a man will only love you because you are pretty...not because of who you are. He will objectify you, cheat on you, and hurt you. You need to be overweight. God is not big enough to protect you against the advances of evil men!

TRUTH 4: (in several parts)
GOD WANTS ME TO BE RESTORED:
Jeremiah 30:16-17 (New International Version)

16 " 'But all who devour you will be devoured;
all your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered;
all who make spoil of you I will despoil.

17 But I will restore you to health
and heal your wounds,'
declares the LORD,
'because you are called an outcast,
Zion for whom no one cares.'

I WILL RESTORE YOU!

GOD WANTS ME TO TAKE CARE OF MY BODY
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

I've been saying this verse to myself whenever I workout or go on a run:
Isaiah 40:31

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.


GOD WANTS ME TO BEAR HIS BEAUTY:
Zechariah 9:16-17

16 The LORD their God will save them on that day
as the flock of his people.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.

17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!

God has promised to be with us and to give us his freedom (2 Cor 3:17)...these lies promote captivity. As we grow in Christ, we grow into his image, and into his mind...we hopefully begin to resemble him quite a bit.

2 Corinthians 3:18
18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

This is one of my all-time favorite verses, because it illustrates the kind of beauty the Lord wants us to pursue. That we will bear and testify HIS beauty! We REFLECT the Lord's glory! How awesome is that? That God loves us so much, he allows us to bear on our physical and spiritual lives a vestige, a TRACE, of his glory! Wow! Thanks, God!
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REMEMBER THIS: SATAN WANTS TO LIE TO YOU! HE WANTS YOU TO SETTLE FOR LESS! IF HE'S ALREADY LOST YOU TO THE SALVATION OF THE LORD, HE WANTS TO FURTHER IMPRISON YOU AND LIE TO YOU TO HOLD YOU BACK FROM GOD'S CLAIM AND CALL ON YOUR LIFE!!!!!!

Isaiah 44:20
20 He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
"Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

IT'S A LIE! AND HE'S A LIAR!!!!

John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

BE ENCOURAGED! FIGHT LIES WITH THE SWORD OF TRUTH! It is fitting that God has called it a sword...mine has seen a lot of battle lately. PLEASE don't let Satan capture you and defeat you. FIGHT him with the sword God has given you!


Psalm 31
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness
.

2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

4 Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.

8 You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.

9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.

10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction, [a]
and my bones grow weak.

11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.

12 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.

13 For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."

15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.

16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.


17 Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the grave. [b]

18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

19 How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from the intrigues of men;
in your dwelling you keep them safe
from accusing tongues.

21 Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.

22 In my alarm I said,
"I am cut off from your sight!"
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.

23 Love the LORD, all his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but the proud he pays back in full.

24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.




Psalm 18:17

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

Monday, February 8, 2010

LET'S RECOGNIZE.

It's 4:00 a.m.

One might wonder why I am awake at such an hour.

It's really not a terrible thing. I just have to go to the airport in a half an hour to deposit my sister and brother-in-law safely on an airplane back to Traverse City, MI.

My sister flew down Saturday night, and her husband flew in Sunday afternoon. He works for an airport, so they are pretty much granted free airfare whenever they want if they are willing to fly standby.

So...I got to have a little superbowl party with my sis, bro and cousin... It was great. OH YEAH...except for that one part where the Colts lost. Let's not talk about that.

God's been doing a lot...but when is he NOT doing a lot? I should say, I've been able to see some of the stuff God has been doing a lot more clearly lately.

Satan has ATTACKED me these last couple weeks with LIES. It's been crazy the mini-battle marching in my head. Satan will lie...usually something like, "Melissa, you are unlovable and not enough." And I will think,

'Um. No...Satan I'm not." And he will say,

"Yes you are. Remember this and this and this? These things PROVE that all I say is true. Let's be honest. You're not good enough. You never will be." And then God will say,

"Melissa, Satan is a liar. I made you with my hands! It was MY breath that breathed life into your lungs. It was I who thought of every little thing about you before you were made. I gave you your big blue eyes, and your sensitive heart. I looked down at you and thought, 'this one will bear my beauty and I will use her for MY glory.' Melissa, you are mine. You let me in long ago and I will NEVER leave you. I am yours. Satan is a liar."

And this went on. And on. And on. Satan would lie. God would proclaim.

It was exhausting.

But the last two days, I started to realize one way that Satan was getting such a foothold of my mind was because PART OF ME BELIEVED HIM! Even when God was POURING his love and his TRUTH into my heart, PART OF ME....Part of me thought,

"No. He's right Lord. I am worthless. Don't you remember how I hurt you? Don't you remember how I twisted the nails in deeper? Don't you remember the density of my sins wrapped around you as you hung on that cross?"

Part of me really didn't forgive myself. And this is the doorway which Satan trotted through, head held high...ready and MORE THAN WILLING to wreak havoc in my mind.

Today in church one of the pastors gave a sermon very close to this war. He talked about freedom from religion....freedom from the law. He briefly talked about forgiving ourselves. And this hit me. IT hit me.

I went up for prayer and my sister came along with me and prayed with two women from my church. There was a really cool moment that I felt something being lifted or moved...like a shadow had been blocking this light...and then it moved...and the light was pulsing down...

I even opened my eyes to see if maybe I was just seeing a light source through my eyelids, because sometimes that happens...and it was hazy like that...

But there was no light source where we were standing.

I wish I had had the faith to keep my eyes closed and focused on that light. It was vibrant.

I told God that I wanted to forgive myself. That I wanted to see myself the way he saw me even through my mistakes and through my past that has wounded me.

My mind was settled after that.

Pray with me and for me as I enter these exciting and dark caverns. God is helping me discover many layers...and I don't know if there is more to the path of forgiveness...all I know is that today...the battle was the Lord's...and he WHOOPED on Satan!