Fighting with Light

“for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” -1 Cor 3:3

Have you ever been short or ill-tempered with somebody?  I know I have, and I am not proud of it. We can say we are Christians but we still have bad days - days where we’re tired or stressed out, days where it doesn’t seem like anything is going right.  It is during those days where we can easily succumb to our flesh, or we can choose to let God flow through us in the midst of the challenges we face. 

The Bible talks about the kind of weapons we use as the redeemed of God. Our weapons are not the same as the world’s.  “On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”  1 Cor 10:4  Every day, we have a choice to make - to fall back into the defenses of our flesh or deciding to trust God and let Him take over, letting ourselves be influenced by His Holy Spirit.  We realize it’s not up to us to change something - we just need to be obedient and let God work. 

The enemy wants nothing more than to get under our skin - to kick us into our flesh so that we will sin.  That is his ultimate goal - to keep you and me from the victory zone God intends for us! 

We can’t fight flesh with flesh if we are going to win a spiritual war.  We have to let the Spirit flow through us in order for the light to overcome darkness.  All that has to happen for darkness to flee is for true light to shine.

Are you fighting with God’s love and light today?  Let God’s spirit flow through you, so that every day you can walk in His wonderful mercy, grace, peace, love, truth and joy. 

Glimpses of Heaven

"Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty - the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.'" -Revelation 4:8
 
Have you ever wondered what heaven is like? I definitely have. I've heard there are streets of gold, houses made of fine gemstones, and angels that are greater than twenty feet tall. Could you imagine creatures that were covered in eyes? That would be so intense!

"The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst." -Revelation 21:18-20
 
The book of Revelation gives us several clues about what heaven, and heaven on earth is and will be like. God is so creative, and is not limited to our natural world - or our natural mind. Can you imagine what kinds of things we will see when we get to heaven? It is incredible to think about.
As we walk through our daily lives, we shouldn't get too caught up in only the things we can see, the things that make sense to our natural minds. God desires that we have a greater vision. Hollywood often portrays the dark side of the supernatural, but I would love to see more movies portraying the reality of heaven!

Through the Bible, God has given us revelation to see just a glimpse of heaven.

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Kat Kerr is a woman who has had visions of heaven. Don't believe it? Read the story for yourself!

Pure Vessels

"And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Him." -1 John 3:5

Are you a pure vessel? Being committed to be a Christian involves a continual process of sanctification, and even more so if you are a teacher of God's word.  (John 17:19, James 3:1)  Although Jesus has paid the price for our sins, and we continually receive His forgiveness, there are still things He will require of us so that we become complete and more like Him.  (James 1:4)  This most often has to do with issues of our hearts. "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."  -Proverbs 4:23

Recently my husband and I went to a marriage conference and one of the sessions was about transparency.  The couple that was speaking talked about their journey of sanctification, which involved the man getting free from issues of adultery.   This of course caused a lot of strife in their marriage, and even though the man had repented to his wife for those things that had happened long ago, he found himself in "sin management", trying to manage the effects that this spiritual root of sin had on him.

This couple had been invited by a pastor to minister to a group of people at a leadership conference, but before they arrived, they had had an argument.  The man felt convicted that they should not minister to this group of people due to the fact that there was strife in their hearts.  As the pastor introduced him, he told him that they were not prepared to minister, and that their hearts were not pure.  The crowd went completely silent.  After a few moments the pastor held the microphone and repented for times when he and his wife ministered with strife in their hearts.  Ninety percent of the crowd got on their knees to repent and the Holy Spirit ministered to the large crowd for more than an hour.  It was very powerful!

As this couple described what had happened, the woman said that when we minister the truth of the gospel but have strife in our hearts, people can receive a double message:  one of God's truth, but then also of whatever unresolved sin is dwelling in our hearts. 

Are you a pure vessel?  Do you make repentance a regular practice in your life?   Pray that God will reveal and remove anything that may block His grace, light, and power in your life.  His word says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -1 John 1:9