Your Testimony Part 2

This may seem like a really simple thing, but it came alive to me recently. If you recall, in Part 1, I explained how the devil wants to steal your testimony. Well, what better way to infuriate the devil, but with praise and thanksgiving to God.

This is what the devil originally wanted, was to be worshipped, to be higher than God. See Isaiah 14. He still wants your attention off of God. If he can't get you to outright worship him, he'll settle for distracting you, bringing you down, discouraging you, getting you to gripe and complain.

Praise and thanksgiving is a weapon and it brings our focus back to where it should be, on God, not on our problems, and not on ourselves. Praise removes pride from our life and it builds up our faith. Think of every possible thing, big and small, to praise and thank God for. After all, every good and perfect gift comes from Him. (James 1:17)

Philippians 4:4, 6-7

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Listen to this three-part series for more information.

Muffin Top

In this world we live in, health is such a big deal! But is it too big a deal?!?



Are you more interested in discussing vitamins than scripture? (Psalm 19:7-11, 14)



Do you care more about losing your muffin top than reading God's Word? (Proverbs 31:30)


Are you willing to get up early to hit the gym, but not to spend time in prayer? (Proverbs 15:8)


If a friend mentions something about health, are you all ears, but if he/she mentions the Bible, do you tune out? (Proverbs 28:14 & 1:33)


Do you find the time to exercise, but can't seem to find time to study the Bible? (I Timothy 4:8)


Do you earnestly want to know how to take care of your body and eat right, but care very little about the health of your soul and how to feed it right? You figure the meal you get on Sundays is enough to get you through the week? (Matthew 6:25-34)


Do you concern yourself with fine lines, but not your eternity? (I Corinthians 15:50-58)



Do you reach for the Tylenol, before reaching for God's medicine? (Proverbs 3:5-8)




This may be more of a women's thing. For you men, do you get more excited about financial books, than God's Word? (Luke 12:15-21)



Time for a priority check.




I Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Spirit, soul, and body--they are listed in that order, for a reason.

I Don't Know How to Study

Need some study ideas? Do you feel like you just won't understand what you're reading? I know how you feel. I was in that same place not too many years ago. Finding the right tools and methods will make your study much more fruitful.

Write It Down - The more ways you get information into your brain, the better it stays. You can read it, say it aloud, write it down, the more ways the better. Copying down any scripture will help you slow down and really focus on the words and let it sink in. I copy a Psalm a day, or sometimes just a part of a Psalm if it's long. You can go through a book of the Bible, or just write down some favorite verses.

Understanding - Understanding what you're reading is key. Matthew 13:19 - When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. A good study Bible is very useful. I like my New King James Spirit-Filled Life Bible, many people like the ESV Study Bible. A study Bible will give you commentary (comments on passages), and other helpful things, like maps. My study Bible has little boxes here and there that explain certain concepts, or certain words. And it has articles on popular topics.

Commentary - Another way to gain understanding is to read various commentaries. You can download e-Sword for free, and download various commentaries they have available. My favorite commentaries are Dr. Chuck Missler's audio commentaries. I believe he has one on every single book of the Bible, many of them are streaming free on his website. If you pay, you actually get college credit for these. They are in-depth. Click here to see. Sometimes I listen and take notes, and if I'm short on time, I will listen while I do housework.

Teaching - Another useful tool is to listen to sermons by seasoned, mature Bible teachers and preachers. My favorite is Andrew Wommack (click on Extras at the top and then browse the left bar). He offers a large selection of free content. I also warn not to just go around listening to anyone and everyone. I listen on the recommendation of close, spiritually like-minded friends, or my pastor. And above all, check your Bible, to see that what they're teaching is truth.

Reading Schedules - There are many reading schedules out there that take you through the Bible. I tried the One Year Schedule for a while. I completed the Bible in 90 Days schedule. Biblegateway has many schedules to choose from, some short, others long, some on Bible highlights, other on Bible characters. I think these are useful because they keep us reading the whole counsel of God. Also, there is a time for shallow and a time for deep. And we need balance of both. When you dig into a topic so deep that you ignore all else, you can fall into error. But if you only ever skim the surface, shallowly, you also won't get the wisdom and insight that you need. So, some of both is wise.

My Favorite - A schedule I have found that I like a lot is different from the others. Dr. Chuck Missler's wife, Nancy, came up with it. You divide your Bible into eight sections and ideally read one chapter from each per day. Eight chapters a day were too much for me, so I cut it back to four. More recently I added sermon time to my study, so I have cut it back to one chapter a day, but I still go through the eight sections.

The eight sections I am referring to are as follows:
*Pentateuch/Torah - Five Books of Moses - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
*Historical - Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
*Poetic - Job & Psalms
*Wisdom - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
*Prophetic - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekial, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
*Gospels + Acts - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts
*Epistles - Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, I & II Peter, I, II, & III John, Jude
*Revelation - this one is in its own group, it is prophetic, but references so many other books of the Bible. This book promises that the reader will be blessed. Rev. 1:3

Word Studies - Sometimes digging into the original language helps clarify meaning. You can go to BlueLetterBible.org or use a concordance to lookup the Hebrew and Greek. Greek especially is much more descriptive than English. For example, there are ten Hebrew and Greek words in Scripture translated by our one English word "world." All these words have a different shade of meaning. Even looking up the tense of verbs is very helpful. Greek has more tenses than English.

Dictionary - Would you like to know the difference between training and admonition, as described in Ephesians 6:4? It might be helpful, since this verse is about a topic that most of us are involved in every day--parenting. I wanted to know, so I looked them up in Vine's Expository Dictionary. I don't own one, so I used the online version, you can too, click here!

I hope these have been helpful. The important thing is to just dig in. Even if you only have 10 minutes a day, start now, and you will see a change in your life. And don't be afraid to change up your routine if it starts to feel stale.

Pray Ephesians 1:17 - 23, that God would open your eyes to His wisdom and He will!

A Portrait

The more I learn of God's truth and love, the more compassion I have for others. We had a wonderful message Saturday night at church about losing our religion, so that we can have compassion for sinners. If it wasn't for God's grace, we would be in the same state as them, so we should never be offended by how they act. They need God, just as we need God.

I would like to expand on that. I have been thinking about this topic for quite some time.

There is another person that needs our compassion. Let me paint you a portrait of that person.

This is the Christian that is wrapped up in bondage, overpowered by strongholds, trapped by their flesh.

This is the Christian who feels unable to break free. You are full of guilt and condemnation for your actions. You ask God for forgiveness over and over and over and you promise God you won't repeat your sin, but you end up going back to it over and over and over. You may even make deals with God, promising to stop sinning, if only He would do (fill in the blank) for you. You don't feel you can come near to God, read His Word, go to church, it just makes you feel worse. You feel God is consistently mad at you and you feel you deserve His anger and wrath. Or you spend hours in prayer, crying out to God, reading your Bible, fasting even, to break free, to no avail. You are bound by strongholds. Strongholds are things that keep you from walking the victorious Christian life. You are saved, but you are bound by addictions, fears, sickness, disease, anxiety, and lusts.

This person is not to be confused with the rebellious Christian. You have one foot in the kingdom, one foot in the world. You enjoy the world, you love it. You want it both ways. You feel you deserve a bit of "fun" from time to time. You disregard God's Word, you ignore it's warnings. You don't even listen to the sermons in church. You don't feel guilt or condemnation, in fact, you may even justify your actions because you're covered by the blood, you are saved by grace, after all, not your works.

The rebellious person needs a kick in the pants. They need to be shown all the passages of the Bible that show God's wrath, His anger over sin, His justice. They need to read Numbers 32:23. They need to know that they will have to give an account of their actions. You are abusing God's grace.

How can you tell if you fall into this rebellious category? Do you feel sorrow over your sin? If so, you are not rebelling against God.

You need help. You need to be aware of God's grace and love. You need to be aware of God's power to help you overcome, to help you change from the inside out. You need deliverance.

Now, I don't know why this is, but some people experience immediate deliverance at the moment they're saved (or really, truly commit to Christ), but others don't. I hear stories of people that drank and then had zero desire for it after coming to the Lord. Unfortunately, I think that this type of person can tend toward less compassion on the ones that don't see immediate deliverance. We can tend to say to them, "well, maybe you haven't really repented."

The fact is, though, none of us can see into a person's heart. We cannot (rarely) tell if a person falls into the former or latter category that I have detailed here. We look on the outside, God looks at the heart. We see their actions, He sees their motives. The actions of the rebellious and the bound often look the same. In fact, the bound may even say things like, "Prayer doesn't work, I quit, God doesn't love me, God doesn't want to help me." They may appear to give up on God, to even turn away from God, but they are in ignorance and God will not hold that blame to them. See I Timothy 1:13 where Paul explains that he formerly blasphemed, but did it ignorantly, so he obtained mercy.

I am constantly reminded of the story of Lazarus. I posted about it recently, here. I was re-reading it just the other day and something new stuck out to me. Lazarus was resurrected, that is a picture of the new birth we experience. But he was still wrapped up in his mummy clothes, that is a picture of our strongholds, the things that are weighing us down, hindering us from walking the victorious Christian life. Jesus says to loose him and set him free, this is where we all need to be, walking in victory, free from addictions, worry, fear, sickness, disease, full of joy and peace. But the thing that most stuck out to me the other day was the detail included in verse 44 of John 11--Lazarus' face was wrapped with a face cloth. There is the key, folks! We are bound up in our strongholds when we are blinded and ignorant of the truth. It is when we take the face cloth off our eyes, see the truth in God's Word, that we will be free from the mummy clothes!!! The strongholds will break.

Rather than always reaching for your Bible to make yourself feel better, to find something that will bring you that immediate deliverance you so seek, instead, look to the whole counsel (Acts 20:27) of God, to learn more about Him and see what His Word has to say about you, about who you are in Christ. Make a point to study, to educate yourself. This is how you come out of ignorance. This is how the blinders come off and you will see the light. Dig in and learn about who God is, who you are, who the devil is, who Jesus is, what sin is, what forgiveness is, what rewards God has for us, what His plan is for man, etc. There is a lifetime of learning there.

It may take time, but your thinking will change, the strongholds will be broken, you will see the evidence in your daily life. You can be free!

Now I'm speaking to the whole Body of Christ. This is the group that needs our compassion. We need to create an environment in our churches where they feel secure in coming for help, and won't be afraid of being shunned (even some of our leaders fall into this category, and I wrote about that here). These are the people Christ came to save, we need to do all we can to help them. Rather than tell these folks they need to change, tell them how the Word will transform them. The Word is powerful, but God has also given people wisdom in certain areas and we need to utilize that, as well. Sometimes a person needs to go to a doctor for physical needs, sometimes a psychologist for mental needs. We need not rule these avenues out, especially for those that have suffered intense traumas and abuse in their formative years. These events actually rewire the brain and cause thoughts and feelings and desires that are in contrast to how this person really wants to live. A professional counselor/psychologist (preferably Christian) can walk this person through that trauma, help them to process it properly, and move past it. And we need to have discipleship programs and classes in our churches, to teach people the foundational doctrines, to give them a whole education, to show them who God is, who they are, what God's plans are, and so much more.

Most of all, this person needs your love. They need to know you're not condemning them. They need encouragement in the Word. They need to know who they are in Christ, that God has totally recreated their spirit and it is perfectly pure and righteous, no matter how their soul and body are acting. They need to know God has provided a way of escape from their temptations (I Corinthians 10:13) and sometimes that way out is to call you up and ask for your help. Will you be there for this person?

I am not saying we accept and tolerate sin. We need to speak the truth in love, hold this person to God's standard of purity, set up boundaries in areas they have broken trust. Don't become an enabler, allowing them to continue in their sin, but don't just tell them to shape up. Teach them about the power God has placed on the inside of them, to shape them into the image of Christ. Teach them about renewing their minds, to break old thought patterns and form new ones, in line with God's Word--their actions will follow these thought patterns. And most of all, pray that God will open the eyes of their understanding (Ephesians 1:16-23).

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Now, I know what you're thinking, I didn't post the entire verse. Apparently, the latter part of the verse is not part of the original text, it was added several hundred years later. As such, it is viewed by some as an error. If added, it contradicts the previous chapter. So I post it like this.

There is NO condemnation to those who are in Christ. Are you in Christ? Then you cannot be condemned. Stop condemning yourself!

What does it mean to be condemned?

1.

to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of censure.

2.

to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment: to condemn a murderer to life imprisonment.

3.

to give grounds or reason for convicting or censuring: His acts condemn him.

4.

to judge or pronounce to be unfit for use or service: to condemn an old building.

5.

U.S. Law . to acquire ownership of for a public purpose,under the right of eminent domain: The city condemned the property.

6.

to force into a specific state or activity: His lack of education condemned him to a life of menial Jobs.

7.

to declare incurable.

I see words like judgment, guilty, unfit, incurable. These words don't apply to you, if you have accepted Christ as your substitute, your Savior.

Condemned in this verse means that you are found guilty and must pay the penalty. The penalty for breaking God's law is death. Christ became sin for us. Sin was judged for all time in Him, on Him. He died, because that was the penalty of sin. He never did sin, but He took our place and became sin, so He had to pay the penalty. The good news is, He rose from the grave, three days later. He's not still dead. If you accept the work that He did, you will never stand before God as your judge. (You will stand before Christ and that is a different thing, I will explain later.)

Hebrews 9:11-15, 10:1-2, & 10-14 are all passages that teach us of Christ's work and how it was once for all time, for all people (people do have to accept this gift, however).

We question this verse in Romans because we do sin and we do feel guilt. This is where you have to recognize the difference between spirit, soul, and body. It is our spirit that is recreated brand-new at the new birth. It is perfect, it is sealed by the Holy Spirit, sin cannot defile it. It doesn't need to grow, it has already been created in Christ's image, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). And God is Spirit (John 4:24), so He looks at you as a spirit. He sees you as righteous (because you're clothed with Christ's righteousness) and holy (that means set apart, He has set you apart for His purpose).

When you get ahold of that revelation that God is not condemning you every time you disobey (He will correct you, but out of love, He will not condemn you), that He loves you unconditionally, you will have such a desire to serve Him and obey Him that you won't struggle with temptation any longer.

Read through the first eight chapters of Romans and see what the Holy Spirit teaches you.

Your Testimony

As I look around me at the way people are struggling, the way people deal with temptations, sickness, disease, lack of peace, lack of joy, financial burdens, and much more, something occurs to me.

Satan is trying to steal your testimony.

John 10:10 tells us that he is a thief, he comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

If you are born-again, he can't take your salvation away from you. So he tries a different tactic--he tries everything he can to steal your testimony. He doesn't want you walking in victory, walking in health, walking in peace and joy, walking in prosperity. He knows that when you do, you are dangerous.

When you are victorious, you are a threat to Satan's plans.

You need to know where these attacks are really coming from. You need to know that it's not God's punishment. It's because the devil is afraid of you. You have to know there is a spiritual battle going on behind the scenes.

The last thing he wants is you spreading the word, telling your story, giving a testimony of God's power and grace working in your life.

II Corinthians 10:3-4

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.

Use your weapons to fight this war. Your weapon is God's Word--read it, speak it, mull it over. It will change your life. It will change your situation.

Say the Same Thing

Hebrews 4:14-16

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Mixture of KJV & NKJV)

I want to focus on the word profession, in this passage. In the Greek, it is the word homologia, which comes from homologeo. It literally means same word (logeo is word, homo is same). It means to say the same thing.

You see, Jesus is our High Priest, that means He is our intercessor. An intercessor is someone that is a mediator. A mediator is a go-between. Jesus is between us and God. He is interceding on our behalf, to God the Father. Just like the priests of the Old Testament, would go to God on behalf of the people. The difference, now, in the New Covenant, is that we are actually in Christ, He is in us, we have a union with Him, and so we are able to go boldly before the throne, too. But He is there, praying for you. He is telling the Father what He has done on your behalf.

We need to hold fast our profession. We need to say the same thing about ourselves that Jesus is saying about us. What is Jesus saying about us? Well, John 1 tells us that Jesus is the Word made flesh, so the Word of God is the Word of Jesus. Pick a scripture, any scripture, He is saying that about you.

When we contradict what the Word says about us, we are contradicting Jesus, our High

Priest. It's like being in a courtroom as the defendant. Jesus is our defense attorney. God the Father is the judge. Satan is the accuser. Satan tries to accuse us of all sorts of things, he tries to accuse us of sin. Jesus says, "I have given them My righteousness." When we say anything different, we are disagreeing with our attorney. In our world, we know that is unwise. We need to use that wisdom in the spiritual world, as well. Get in agreement with your attorney. Find out what He is saying to the judge. Start saying those same things about yourself. That is the only way we can get the help we need, the mercy and grace mentioned in the latter part of the passage.

Here are some good references:

II Corinthians 5:17 - I have been created a new creature in Christ Jesus, old things have passed away, behold, all things are new.

Romans 3:22 - I have the righteousness of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:11 - The Holy Spirit dwells in me, and He gives life to my mortal body, just as He raised Christ from the dead.

I Peter 2:24 - By Jesus' stripes, I was healed.

Ephesians 4:24 - My spirit has been recreated in true righteousness and holiness.

Romans 12:2 - I will not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but I will let God transform me (my soul/mind) into a new person, by changing the way I think. Then I will learn to know what God wants me to do. (taken from NLT)

Ephesians 2:8-10 - It is by grace that I have been saved, through faith, and that is not of myself; it is a gift of God, it is not by anything I have done, so that I cannot boast. I am God's workmanship, His special creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has already prepared for me.

Philippians 1:6 - I am confident of this, that God has begun a good work in me and will not stop working on me until Christ returns, then it will be complete (this is referring to your soul, it's called sanctification).

Philippians 4:11-13 - In whatever state I am in, I have learned to be content; I know how to live humbly and I know how to live in prosperity. I can do all things (everything God has called me to) through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:6-7 - I will be anxious for nothing, I will make my requests known to God, and His peace, that is so great I cannot even understand it, will guard my heart and mind through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 - My God supplies all my needs, according to His riches in glory, by Christ Jesus (this speaks not only to material needs, but help to avoid temptation, our need of redemption, healing, and more).

Galatians 2:20 - I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Romans 8:1 - I cannot be condemned because I am in Christ, He was condemned and paid the penalty for me.

I Corinthians 3:16 - My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, His Spirit dwells in me.

Romans 8:31 - God is on my side, no one can be against me.

Romans 8:28 - I know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:37 - I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.

Romans 8:38-39 - Nothing can separate me from the love of God.

And there are so many more. These are coming to me almost faster than I can type them. That is what happens when you fill your heart with God's Word. His Holy Spirit will bring it back to your mind, when you need it most. So dig in and start filling your heart and mind. Find more of God's promises and add them to this list. Write these out, print them out. Post them where you will see them most, on the refrigerator, on the bathroom mirror, etc. Start to say these things about yourself, because that is what Jesus is saying about you, right now, up in heaven, before the throne of God!