37 Days – Strongholds Must Fall

Pastor Randy’s devotional:

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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 10:4-5

January 23^rd  Prayer:

Lord, I worship You today! I praise You for demolishing the nagging arguments in my mind that attempt to disqualify me and condemn me—these thoughts have been in my mind for many years. Thank You for victory over habitual sin and familiar patterns of weakness and temptation. Thank you for power over resentment, anger, and unforgiveness. All these arguments and thinking patterns that have restricted my growth for so long now—I present them to Jesus this day. Make these thoughts obey You, Jesus. Thank You for demolishing these torturers . . . in Jesus’ name!

My thoughts:

Strongholds are those things that you continue to struggle with in your walk with the Lord.  Through unmentionable anguish and effort we continue to overcome these areas of our own accord and abilities.  First, because of pride and the simple truth that we believe we can handle these items on our own, and secondly, because we are ashamed of coming before the Lord, knowing that our actions are outside of His righteousness.  We need to realize that we can’t overcome these things without God.  We can try to will ourselves into a straight-jacket discipline, but the enemy is so much stronger.  When we reach to God for His help, He is much stronger than the enemy.  Knocking down these strongholds is not difficult for Him, but it takes our acknowledgement of His authority and obedience to follow His ways.

Taking control of your thoughts, taking control of your actions and taking control of your words are all things that the Lord can bring to fruition.  He alone can cast down those negative thoughts, violent actions and inappropriate words and bring your life back into line with His path.  You must take the initiative to engage Him and trust that He is fighting on your behalf.  Lift your concerns, thoughts and fears to Him, and ask that He bring His power to bear on your situation.  Ask that He remove the strongholds that keep you from serving in a richer capacity, and keep you from walking along His path.  Earnestly reach out to Him for as your Father, He will watch over and fight on your behalf.  Realize and acknowledge His sovereignty and authority over all things, including the evil one and those that follow Him.  Your Father is one big, bad dude and despite Satan’s big mouth and deceptive lies, he pales in comparison.

Be Blessed,

Rich

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Blind Thanks

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“I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.” – 2 Corinthians 1:4

You are blessed beyond measure.  The world is such an incredible place and we are privileged to walk along side of you.  For you see the day you were created deep inside the secret places of angels and our Creator a plan was ignited, and hundreds if not thousands of lives were destined to be changed.  While you were developing within the confines of your blessed mother’s womb, those before and after you were likewise anticipating the birth and the opportunity to engage with you and experience the joy, the laughter and the beauty that you have brought to the world.  Not for one minute can you exist on this earth without impacting another’s life deeply.  The moment you took your first breath, the nurses, the doctors and your parents were overcome with wonder and amazement.  You have continued to influence others throughout your life, long or short as it might have been. The lady at the corner store was lifted up when you smiled.  The waitress at the diner made her rent because you gave her a tip the other night.  When you stopped and helped that little boy or girl, you influenced the entirety of their life to help others when they needed it.  You’ll never know the people in this world you have influenced or changed without even trying.  Can you imagine the impact you could have on this world if you actually took the time to try?

I love all of you reading this today.  You laugh and say, “Yeah right”  Let me tell you though that in this world we are to love one another as Christ loved us.  I love you as my brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing that we will one day rejoice together before the throne of our King.  Without knowing you I pray for you and thank God for you, that you might influence thousands and millions for His Kingdom, by following His loving grace and purpose in your life.  Whatever happens from this day forward, know that you are not alone in your quest, and your purpose is being lived out with or without your awareness.  For what you do not see, God does, and you know what I have incredible faith that He knows exactly how to use every single event in your life to His good.  If you agree that He is omnipotent and completely sovereign than you must likewise agree that you are within His plan with or without your willing participation.  The cool thing is that if you embrace His plan while giving all glory back to Him, your impact on this world will be immeasurable.

I love those of you who have yet to come to understand the grace of God the Father with pain and passion that you come to this understanding before the night falls in finality on this world.  I do not know you, but the Father does, regardless of what you believe.  For you see the God I serve is the embodiment of love and cannot change.  In our scriptures it says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  He did not say some, or these people or those people, or the people in Israel, or America or the UK.  No, He said “love the world”  and the last time I checked you are in the world.  Whether you love God or not – He loves you.  I thank God for you, and for the purpose God has for you.

Be thankful my friends for the grace that has come upon you and your ability to share this grace with everyone you meet. 

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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If You Can’t Say Something Nice

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 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” – Exodus 20:7

As the words left his lips, the room quieted considerably.  The boy, no more than 4 years old, had uttered such profane words that the adults and others in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to him.  His eyes got really big, and the laughing smile he had on his face was suddenly replaced with a look of embarrassment and fear.  In his little mind he knew that he had just done something that was unacceptable and the guilt began to set in.  Quietly, his mother knelt down next to the young boy and wrapped her arm around him, pulling him close.  “Sweetie, why would you way something like that?”  With his big brown eyes, he looked back at his loving mother, “Mommy, I watched Daddy hit his thumb with a hammer the other day and those are the words he said.  When I stubbed my toe on the stool over there, I thought that was what I was supposed to stay.”

This is nothing new.  We are all intimately familiar with the loose tongue and carelessness of the words we choose to use as we carry on with the stress of daily life.  We are all familiar with the scripture verse that says we should not use the Lord’s name in vain, yet many of us continue to allow this vile and disrespectful language to exude from our thoughts and heart.  The problem really comes down to reverence and respect for the most Holy of all names, and secondly whether we truly embrace the 10 Commandments as God’s word or as a suggestion.

Can you stand here today and truly say that God Almighty is the most sovereign and highest authority ever to exist?  God acknowledges this fact in Genesis 22:16, as He enters into covenant with Abraham, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord…”  A covenant is entered into when 2 individuals agree to their responsibilities with the acknowledgement of one who is greater than either of the parties in the covenant.  In this particular case, there is no other greater than God and therefore He swears by Himself, to be held accountable to this covenant with Abraham.  Again, in Exodus 3:14, God tells Moses; “I AM that I AM. . . “ when He entered into covenant with Moses.  This represents that there is nothing greater to describe His presence, He is all things, He is eternal, He is unchanging.  In John 3:16 we once again hear of God’s omnipotence as He tells of His plan of salvation for all mankind.  “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.”  This is the ultimate sacrifice the highest form of love known to man, to give his only son. 

We know what is written, yet the evil an impurity that is within our heart seeps out through our tongue.  It is discarded as mere words or fodder, and not held to the level of accountability that God demands in His 10 Commandments.  If we truly embraced, with reverence and holiness, the name of God, we would never utter such filth from our lips.  God’s name is to be praised, worshipped and held on high.  It is wrong to use His name in a derogatory, demeaning or unrighteous manner.  We often are careless and reckless with our language in the heat of a verbal exchange, but this does not constitute acceptable behavior.  We can justify it all we want, “slip of the tongue” “didn’t mean it” “He knows I love Him” “others say much worse things”; but it is still taking the Lord’s name in vain.  It is sin, period.  Like every other sin, we must bring this to the Lord, confess it, repent of it and allow the Holy Spirit to help us overcome it.

There is no greater authority than God Almighty and in knowing this we need to hold, in reverence, everything that He has instructed us to do.  The 10 Commandments are not suggestions, they are instructions and yes, they should be taken literally.  Perhaps the next time you feel the urge to let loose with a few expletives, you might be cautioned to bite your tongue, or praise God instead.  One of my favorite life lessons from the Disney movie Bambi, “… Thumper what did your Father tell you this morning?  If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”  Perhaps we should choose the Thumper rule more frequently when our angered has reached the level of cursing, or using the Lord’s name in vain.

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For an archive of Daily Thoughts go to: http://www.10minutereader.com

The Powerless

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“‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” – Zechariah 4:6

It’s raining and the roads are showing signs of flooding.  The culverts along each side are already to the point of overflowing and the rains are still coming down.  The forecast says there is a 40% chance of rain, yet I can look out my window and see that the odds are much greater.  As I came over a small hill and around a ‘S’ turn over a bridge I noticed that the cars were waiting patiently to cross through standing water on the road.  The river below had crested and was actually flowing over the road now rather than under it.  It was my turn to drive through the small stream of water that was easily 6 inches deep across the road.  As I was making my way through it I looked up and saw a large 4 wheel truck coming the opposite direction without a care.  He proceeded right into the water at normal speeds of 35 mph and caused a wake (wave) of water which completely covered the front hood of my car.  For that brief 10 seconds my engine was literally under water and as you can imagine, shut down. 

The truck proceeded through and out the other side on his way, I’m sure laughing at the car he had left in his wake stalled in the middle of this stream of water.  I couldn’t open my door, for the water was above the bottom of the car and would have come into the car if I did.  I tried to re-start the car and the engine muffled a few whines and groans, but nothing.  I looked at the cars ahead of me, and the cars behind me; both waiting patiently for me to move, but neither willing to get out of their car to push me out of the middle.  I lowered my head against the steering wheel, closed my eyes and prayed – “God, let this car start and let me get out of this flood.”  I turned the key, and floored the gas pedal, the engine turned over and I slammed the car into drive.  I drove out of the water to higher ground and proceeded on my way to work praising God for His mercy and miracles.

You do not have control of situations in life, as much as we want too.  Things are going to happen and you are going to wonder – Why?  without getting an answer.  The reality is that God is in control, He is Sovereign and He is Omniscient.  The Spirit that dwells inside of those that have been saved, is the spirit of God that I speak of.  The Trinity tells us that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are One.  The Father in heaven, the Son who came and dwelt among us and the Holy Ghost that lives within us.  When we are seeking answers from God, the Spirit within us is there to comfort, counsel and help us.  He is the same presence of God that dwelt within the disciples and apostles of the early church.  Jesus, before leaving to be with the Father until His return, sent the Holy Spirit to be with His people.  (John 16:7)

We are not alone in this world, to defend evil and darkness on our own.  We have the strength of God Almighty within each of us, yet we rarely come to counsel with Him in our time of need.  God promised you that the Holy Spirit would be with you always, do you not believe that is true?  God is truth, righteousness and perfect – He will not lie, nor misguide you in the ways of righteousness.  His promises are truth and reliable, if we would only seek Him in our times of distress.  There are circumstances in your life where regardless of your intelligence, your skill, your might, your strength or your power; you cannot make a difference.  God can.  He created this earth, I’m quite sure there is nothing that can happen here that He cannot overcome, if it is within His sovereign will.  We need to be willing to reach out to Him for control, guidance and help; and to accept that sometimes what we want is not in line with His plans.  His power and authority are there for you to tap into – don’t give up – reach out.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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God, We Need You

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“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” – Jeremiah 32:17

Look around you at the calamity, the pain, hurt and depression around the globe.  Watch the news and see the devastation in countries far and wide – the wars, the economic unrest, the hatred between people of different cultures and ethnicity.  As you sit with your cup of coffee in the morning and jump on Facebook or e-mail or read the morning paper, observe the seriousness of the problems facing this global society.  Now, look at our leaders in every nation, political body, corporation and Province and ask yourself this one very basic question:
     “Do I trust that they know what they’re doing and will be able to pull us out of this mess?” 

You can’t sit on the sidelines and wait for someone to jump in and “save” us all from the downward spiral we have started on.  This is not the time to sit back and observe.  Your life today is not the same as it was 5 years ago, 10 years ago or 20 for that matter.  The world has changed dramatically, not because of any one event, but a culmination of things that when connected over a period of 20 years have brought us to a point of apathy and self preservation.  We look out for ourselves and hope that someone else is looking out for the world’s issues.  We hear the news, but don’t react.  The unbelievable economic melt down on a global basis has never been so prominent at the same time before.  It’s not an American problem, Greece problem, China problem, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Korea, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Libya or Israel problem.  The problems are extremely complex and impact all of us as our lives are so intertwined and connected in this 21st century world.  The reality is that the smartest men in the smartest business schools and the wisest of the wise don’t have answers this time around. If you pull a piece of thread in one country to solve the problem there, it is unraveling a dependency 5000 miles away in another country, which in turn reacts and begins a domino effect across the globe.

 I no longer trust in man to solve these problems.  Presidents, Prime Ministers, Dictators, Generals, Parliament, Congress, PhD’s and Professors and so on are not consistently cognizant of the ever present sovereignty of God Almighty and His plan for this world.  I don’t have answers or even an inkling of understanding of the idiosyncrasies and dependencies of how we are woven together on a global scale.  What I do have though is a faith in God above that He knows it all.  He is sovereign and in His own way knows exactly how everything is connected in His overall plan.  I do believe He has a plan, and perhaps that plan, as it was in many Old Testament references, is to allow us to reach the point of destruction and devastation that we will turn back to Him.  As long as our leaders continue to try and solve these global problems independent of the Lord’s will, calamity and strife will continue to escalate. 

If you are waiting for someone to step up and save this world with their brilliance, knowledge and charm; I believe you will be waiting a very long time, and should be highly skeptical of the person you are putting your faith in.  God knows what is going on, and will bring an end to the pain and suffering in due time.  Perhaps it is near the end, or perhaps it is another clearing of the chaff as He has done in the past; but I trust that He is the only answer in today’s world.  I am not depressed nor dismayed by today’s problems.  I am concerned and heartbroken that our leaders are not turning to God for answers though.  There seems to be so much confusion between our leaders in regards to God that there is little ground for coming together as one body.  You and I on the other hand represent a much larger body of believers and with the strength, grace, love and sovereignty of God almighty we can come together and stand up for righteousness, justice and His eternal plan of salvation in today’s world.  These problems don’t fix themselves, it takes participation from the people with a passion for seeing it through.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
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Be a Good Neighbor

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“Why do you make me look at injustice?  Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?  Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds.” – Habakkuk 1:3

Habakkuk is my neighbor.  He and I were walking around the sub-division the other day and he shared this conversation with me.  Of course I’m being facetious, but in reading one of the most overlooked books in the bible one can quickly come to the conclusion that the same questions that perplexed Habakkuk are on the minds of millions of people today.

“God, where are you?  Why aren’t you stepping into the corruptness of our society and delivering justice to those who inflict evil on the world?”  Sound familiar?  Has this thought ever crossed your mind in the middle of watching the evening news or reading the daily diatribe of injustice that is happening all over the world.  One could easily take a position that God is absent, not interested or even worse non-existent.  Why doesn’t He defend Himself against the unrighteous as in the days of old?

The Lord answers Habakkuk in chapter 2:3, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.  Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”  God is sovereign and we are to trust in His timing, His plan and His reign over all creation.  Nothing goes by without His knowing, and the evil that is in the world today will be brought to justice in due time.  Those that seek His love, His grace and mercy will find it; and those who chose to pursue their own gods and their own righteousness will be dealt with on His watch.  We are to trust in Him, and continue to do His work while we are able.  Keep in mind what we are told in 2 Peter 3:9, “…Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”   If God loves you enough to deliver you from the pit of hell, he loves your neighbor as much.  Who is your neighbor?  In God’s eyes you have 6.3 billion neighbors, so we better be busy about sharing His love.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://www.10minutereader.com