When we conquer our enemies, we are still slaves to the ongoing quest for self righteousness and exaltation of men.  Nonbelievers live to be victorious, to fight their own battles and make their own way so they too can be counted righteous among the world.  There are many financially successful nonbelievers.  We see them on TV, may even know a few personally.  However, the devil will sometimes exalt those who do not seek the Lord for the purpose of keeping them from seeking the Lord.  If we never run in to the enemy, we could be running the same way as the enemy.  As believers, we take up our cross daily and labor not for the exaltation of our fellow man but remain humble in the face of pride.  We pray for wisdom and knowledge to remain meek among the prideful. To remain meek amongst the prideful requires more strength than the useless labor of  hasty revenge.   As believers we are rulers of our souls by living in righteousness of the Lord.  We understand the battle has already been won, our way has already been made and we take up our cross to labor for the Kingdom and not for the world.  We are counted righteous by God because we believe in Jesus and the Cross.  Stand steadfast and bold on the rock that is the Word of God when the sand of the enemy washes upon your shore.  – Donna Warren

The Holy Spirit is roaming this earth today looking for willing vessels to fill and preach the Word of God. He is gentle and kind yet powerful. Our joy is not in His power but in God’s glory. He is jumping denominational lines and empowering Christians. The Holy Spirit is setting our souls on fire for the Lord and equipping us with the boldness to declare the Word of God in our life and claim God’s property – His children. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35  Don’t give the enemy claim to your soul and pray intercession for all of God’s children.  As Pastor Al Jerkins says, literally love the hell out of the ones the enemy is using to offend you. 

God is the same God all of the time. He is only as far as we stray. When the Lord blesses us and we’re high on that mountain, we sing His praises. Then, at other times, we are in the valley wondering why. It is not necessarily that we have “strayed”. God did not promise us there would be no suffering in this world. However, He did make provisions for us to overcome the suffering by sending us His Holy Spirit to be a comforter, to strengthen and to give us the wisdom and knowledge we need to get through the valley. God’s word is infallible and His timing is perfect. If not for Jesus and the Cross and Jesus ascending to Heaven, we would not have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, so many believers and nonbelievers don’t understand, utilize and receive this gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not an “it” but a “He”. He is a part of the Godhead; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is gentle and kind. We often, albeit unknowingly, hurt the Holy Spirit with our actions and words. He is with us always, wanting to help each of us carry out God’s will in our lives. Seek His guidance and listen. He is the one sent here to help us through the valley.

Our mortal bodies are neutral. They are empty vessels. They can yield to the spirit of sin or the Spirit of God. Our mortal bodies are creative and powerful yet empty. We are the ones who determines the fullness of our vessels and by which spirit it will be filled. Because of Jesus and the Cross we have dominion over the spirit of sin AS LONG AS we are filled with the Spirit of God. We stay filled with the Spirit of God by faith. Faith in God, covered under the blood of Jesus and living under His grace will leave no room for the spirit of sin to enter into a filled vessel. Being half full is being lukewarm. We cannot be neither hot nor cold. We can’t choose which parts are filled with what. We are either sold out to God or sold out to the enemy. God created our powerful vessels to be filled with His glory and righteousness and to prosper and be in good health. Prosperity is not necessarily “financial” prosperity. Prosperity is your personal relationship with Jesus, understanding His grace and receiving His Spirit. Live YOUR life to its full potential by filling your vessel with the Spirit of God. Make an investment in your prosperity by seeking the Lord. Seek the mind of Jesus and reflect God’s glory!

Emotional anger vs. righteous anger – quite simply emotional anger is between you and God and righteous anger is between your offender and God. Emotional anger is a fertile field for sin. It is self centered and evil. Emotional anger includes greed and revenge and is dealt with by yielding to the Holy Spirit and giving Him latitude to work within us to overcome our anger. However, we must make a conscious decision to yield to the Holy Spirit when emotional anger begins to take hold. Righteous anger on the other hand, is patient and slow to act. It is anger toward the sinful ACTIONS of man and not toward man himself. Righteous anger should always be turned to grief or forgiveness toward the offender and never to bitterness, thus it becomes emotional.   Righteous anger is recognizing evil as evil but not dealing with it in an evil manner. Anger can be used as a prompt. It can be a catalyst for good or evil. Ephesians 4:26-27 “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil.” Use your anger as a divine catalyst to show your offender the mercy of the Lord and show the devil the Lord’s grace, glory and righteousness has and will always trump any evil!

No man is infallible. Being filled with the Holy Spirit gives you the boldness for truth. Galations 2:21″ I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if Righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Salvation, sanctification and justification come through faith in Jesus and The Cross. Hypocrisy is having faith in Jesus, yet seeking sanctification and justification through the Law. Another form of hypocrisy is speaking Grace yet asserting the Law upon the sins of others. This form of hypocrisy is used by enemy as a stumbling block for unbelievers or new Christians. It is a way of judging our sin against another’s sin.   Inconsistencies arise when we are compelled to justify our sins under penalty of the Law while having faith in Jesus for suffering the penalty of the Law. We cannot endure the suffering of Jesus for Him when He has already endured our suffering for us. Jesus’ ministry was of God’s righteousness and grace, not condemnation. As Christians, our life is our ministry. We can choose to live a life of persecution and condemnation or we can choose to live a life full of God’s Grace, declaring His Word and never allowing our Lord to die in vain – choose Jesus!

Faith also requires discipline. God responds to faith but when it comes to doing our part we must have the discipline to follow through. God has done His part. He has made provisions for our prosperity. The Lord wants us to have all of our hearts desires and knows what is best for us. Just like a parent who wants the best for their children and just like a child who sometimes thinks they can do it better – such is the life of a Child of God. We run full speed through this life, not only trying to keep the wheels from squeaking but trying to keep them from falling off all together. Guess who is keeping those wheels squeaking? Just who is it keeping us jumping ALL the time? SLOW DOWN and let the Holy Spirit order your footsteps today. The Holy Spirit will guide you and give you the strength to do your part in God’s plan for your life if we will just take the time to listen.

When you know who is inside, who it is bearing witness with your spirit, you don’t worry about what is outside. Some call it “intuition” and some call it your “conscious”. That “it” is not an “it” at all. He has a name. He is the Holy Spirit guiding you. We don’t always listen. I have said time after time “If I had only listened to my gut”. Now that I realize “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” 1 John 4:4, I listen a lot more attentively. Not only is He the one who guides you, He is also the one you focus on to stay balanced when the world is spinning around you. A dancer must find a focal point while spinning to stay balanced, so must we stay focused on the Lord. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, empower you to be a Christian with a purpose of showing His glory.

God will allow satan to cause storms in your life for the purpose of testing. The Lord is testing your faith in order to show you what He can do in your life if you will allow Him. He already knows what He can do. HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: God will ALWAYS deliver His children whom He allows Satan to test as long as we remain faithful to Him and look to Him for deliverance. Knowing that God WILL deliver you from your troubles in a way that gives Him all of the glory and sends Satan back under his rock is part of the peace the Holy Spirit gives you during these times. We must also remember this same principal when we see others in trouble, who are being tested or attacked. God is looking directly at us when we see our brethren in trouble. It is crucial that we encourage them, remind them of the love of Jesus by showing them. Lift someone up today who is under attack. Remind them God WILL deliver them and you will be blessed as well.

God leaves us nuggets. He leaves us a reason to keep the faith in His Word and His purpose. It’s okay to look for those nuggets, the signs and wonders for confirmation of what He has put in our hearts. Once we receive this nugget of confirmation that we are in God’s will, hold on to it and BELIEVE. This is the exact nugget the enemy will try to steal. This is where faith is put into action. When God is quiet and the enemy is trying to distract you, stay focused on the Lord and His promise. Keep believing in all of the nuggets God has left you. Psalms 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” Don’t let the enemy rob you of your blessing today and praise the Lord for all of the nuggets He has left you.