Reconciling with Children

Greetings,

                When I picked up the phone her tone said it all. She was broken. She was in despair. She felt powerless. Why? As she began to explain to me, she was the mother of a child that had severed all communication. Furthermore, years had passed and now she had a granddaughter—a child she had never met. Can you imagine? She was without solutions. She had tried to figure it out, to bring resolution in her own strength, and to wait on God. In spite of all of this, nothing changed. In her desperation for reconciliation, she made a call. Little did she know that the time had finally come for her power encounter with the Living God.

                Years ago when I was still in Bible school I volunteered for the prayer line of the church that I was attending. It was a powerful experience. In that position I not only had the opportunity to minister to people locally, but to people around the country and even from other nations. The head pastor of the church had international influence and so prayer requests came in from many places.

                In this kind of ministry a person gets exposed to a lot of things... people seek help for issues they don't seek help for in person. The option of anonymity plays a big role in the effectiveness of prayer lines. Some of the stories and situations I was presented with were frankly mind-blowing. For instance, there was the woman whose father would periodically come after her and rape her. Due to his connections, she could never successfully press charges.

                Then there was the issue of the woman whose husband was getting involved with a secret society. His behavior was beginning to get very weird. Moreover, when she would start asking too many questions weird things would happen. For instance, she found a literal animal organ in a drawer. It manifested without anyone breaking, entering the home, or putting it there. This kind of activity was the product of real sorcery.

                Of course I can't forget to mention the woman who called in with certain health problems. As I began to pray for her, I realized that she was heavily demonized. So there I was, in that little room on the phone, driving out demons in another nation. As I was going at it, I could hear her in the background literally vomiting as the demons were being driven from her. The presence of God on me during that call was like a thick cloud that even the other prayer warriors in the room felt. To those Christians that want to remain naive to the needs that people have in the real world—I do not recommend volunteering for a prayer line!

                As I ministered in this position our instructions were simple. Don't counsel, don't prophesy, just pray. A prayer warrior learns quickly that to be effective, their perspective of God must remain bigger than whatever situation they are hearing. For me, this was an essential platform. It worked to launch me forward in my ability to minister to real needs in a real world. A world oppressed by a real devil.

                And so it was that during my service that I met a certain lady on the other end of the phone line. Her story broke my heart. She had not had communication with her daughter for years. To add insult to injury, during that time the daughter gave birth and did not allow her mother to so much as see her grandchild. The mother was a committed Christian and despite her best efforts and intentions, reconciliation had not come to their family. She had not been able to enjoy open communication with her daughter and remained totally estranged from her grandchild. What could she do?

                Maybe you or someone you know is in a similar situation. The relationship between them and their children has become entirely broken, and reconciliation seems impossible. Maybe as a parent you have found yourself in this situation and all you can do is blame yourself. Your shortcomings, your mistakes, your inadequacies: how can you expect anything better than the pain you have because of the divide that exists between you and your children?

                In other situations you may be caught up in a difficult situation because your children have gone astray. Your walk with Christ has divided them from you. They want their lifestyle and they reject yours. This was the case with this woman and her daughter. She was trusting Jesus, but it was difficult. As a matter of fact, the Bible is clear that hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12).

                So there I was, preparing to stand with this woman for reconciliation between her and her daughter. But what could one prayer do when years of waiting and praying had already been lifted up? The answer: Quite a bit! Together, we put our faith in a promise of God found in the book of Isaiah. If you have children that have gone astray, I encourage you to memorize and pray according to the following promise regularly. It is written, "But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children (Isaiah 49:25)."

                The very next week I received a special phone call while volunteering on the prayer line. If you can believe it, it was the same woman! The chances of this happening were incredibly small! So small, in fact, I believe it was a God thing. The news: the very next Sunday after our prayer, the daughter showed up at her church with her child! In an emotional and tearful reunion, forgiveness and reconciliation manifested. With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.

The Armor of God and the Shield of Faith

Greetings,

                A shield is an indispensible asset to have, particularly when engaging in extremely dangerous combat situations. In the past, soldiers went out to war with a sword and a shield. The shield was to ensure that they wouldn't have to block swords, arrows, and spears with the face and chest. Today police forces will have SWAT teams that use shields to block bullets. No one wants to block bullets with their face and chest, even if they do have a helmet or body armor. Have you ever blocked something with your face? It's not pleasant. Just like there are shields in the natural, there is also a shield in the spirit. It is called the shield of faith.

                "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:13-18)

                A friend of mine has an interesting story. Due to the fact that it ties in so perfectly with our study, I am going to provide you with the cliff notes. This particular testimony helps us to understand the nature of just how the armor of God works. Understand that by providing this testimony certain assumptions are being made. The first is that demons are just as real today as they were when Jesus walked the earth. The second is that the Bible is very clear about what we as believers are expected to do with our salvation.

                "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues" (Mark 16:17)

                This friend was conducting a deliverance session with a man that was demonized. A deliverance session is when an individual receives personal ministry for the express purpose of breaking demonic strongholds and casting out demons. At one point the head demon manifested and began speaking through the man's mouth. A head demon is a spirit that holds authority and control over weaker spirits that are also at work in a person or situation. My friend (who happens to be an expert in this area of ministry) was questioning the spirit as to how he entered the man. During the explanation, the spirit mentioned that the man's shield (of faith) was extremely small and so it was very easy to get around. The spirit also mentioned that my friend's shield (of faith) extended from the floor to the ceiling.

                My friend was successfully able to get this man delivered in the name of Jesus, but I use this story here to bring out two important points. The first point is that the demon could only see the armor because in the spirit realm the armor was literal. Both my friend's spirit and the man's spirit literally had on spiritual armor. As I have shared in previous letters, while we can glean great lessons by studying out the meaning of the armor, the fact of the matter is that it literally exists in the spirit realm. The second point is very interesting. It seems that the effectiveness of the armor we have is directly related to the type of relationship we share with Jesus. Could it be that my friend's shield was much larger than the shield of the man he was delivering? Keeping in mind the source of the information, the only thing I can say is that it is certainly possible.

                In any case, the Bible distinguishes between different types of faith. Some people have strong faith and some people have weak faith. The closer we walk with Jesus, the more real He becomes to us, and the more faith we will have. It's pretty simple. Due to the fact that my friend had a very close walk with Jesus, his shield of faith was very effective. The man he was ministering to, on the other hand, had weak faith.

                "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations" (Romans 14:1)

                You may be reading this letter and realizing that your faith tends towards he weak end of the spectrum. If so there is a solution to the problem! The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). When we begin to hear (and read) what the Bible says about what God can do, we are hearing by the Word of God. When we enter into prayer and begin to hear the Word of God ministering to our spirit, we are also hearing by the Word of God. This activity will grow our faith.

                As our faith grows it becomes a shield against the attacks of the enemy. Instead of fighting like Rocky (who blocked punches with his face) we will begin fighting like a professional SWAT team in the spirit. After our battles, we won't be a bloody mess. Doesn't that sound nice!

                The Bible says that the shield of faith quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one. Other translations render this as fiery arrows. These spiritual weapons can take many forms in the natural. They can come as groundless accusations, unexpected job loss, betrayal, rejection, discouragement, and a broken marriage. However these fiery darts manifest, their purpose is to be an offensive maneuver. They either wound us and keep us out of the spiritual fight, or force us to fight at a severe disadvantage. For this reason, the Bible says "above all else" take up the shield of faith.

                When we maintain our faith we rise above the circumstances that we are faced with. We have the ability to replace rejection in the natural with the spiritual fact that we are accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6). We have the ability to overcome unexpected job loss because we have confidence that God will provide our every need (Philippians 4:19). We easily overcome groundless accusations because we have faith that we have been justified by the grace of God (Romans 3:24). Faith allows our supernatural inheritance in Christ to overpower our natural circumstances. This is why we need to take up the shield of faith.

                A final point regarding the shield of faith the word translated as shield. It is the Greek word is thureos and it denotes a very large shield. It was large enough to completely shield an entire body ducked behind it (something like 4 feet by 2 feet). It contained an outer layer of leather that was treated with oil and water so that if fiery arrows struck the shield the fire would be quickly extinguished. Furthermore, when a group of soldiers were trapped under enemy fire they would create a circle, protecting themselves with the shields. Those that were in the middle of the circle would hold their shields above their heads creating an impenetrable fortress of defense. The lesson: our faith isn't only for us, it's for our brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we are fighting side-by-side. Your words of faith spoken into the life of a struggling brother or sister in Christ can make all the difference.

Faith and the Heart

9/24/11

Greetings,

                Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is like a substance that is placed upon our words. This substance reformats the spirit realm to produce realities in line with the words that we speak in faith. The amount of faith that we have equals the amount of power that we will walk in. This substance that cannot be seen is evidence that the things we call forth will manifest from the unseen realm. In this way, faith becomes a sort of currency. We exchange our faith for the manifestation of God’s works. Faith is a powerful force.

                There is much to be said about faith. However, what I want to discuss is the reason why some people can speak things and receive nothing while other people can speak things and receive immediately. What is the difference between strong faith and weak faith? Doesn’t the Bible say that God is no respecter of persons? Why does faith seem to work better for some than for others? These are relevant questions that have mind-blowing explanations.

                Let us begin with an illustration. Consider Dung the caveman. Dung was a great hunter in his day. His weapon of choice was the rock. When he would hunt, he would pick up a rock and throw the rock at his unsuspecting prey. If he would miss, he’d starve. If he hit the animal in the wrong place, he’d get attacked. However, if he threw the rock just right, he would hit the animal in the head. When this happened, the animal would often fall unconscious. Once the animal was unconscious Dung would kill the animal and eat it.

                What do Dung and his rock have to do with faith? Dung’s arm, being the driving force behind the rock, is like our heart. The heart can be understood as the subconscious, and it is the driving force behind faith. Dung’s rock, being the substance projected from the driving force, is like our faith. The rocks that Dung threw could be sharp or dull. As one would imagine, sharp rocks were more effective.

                Dung had a son. Dung’s son was named Ung. Ung was trained to throw rocks just like his dad. What Ung found, however, was that his dad’s way of doing things had very limited effectiveness. One day Ung had a revelation. He realized that if he bowed a piece of wood and put a string on it he could use it to launch a sharpened rock attached to a stick. He called the invention the bow and arrow. After a few years, Ung surpassed Dung as the village hero. He also began to train other hunters to be more effective.

                When we look at Dung’s son, we learn a lesson. Ung had a revelation that if the driving force could be made more powerful, the rock could be launched with greater force and accuracy. This is what happens when we get our hearts right, which is when our hearts are programmed according to the word of God. Remember that the heart is synonymous with the subconscious.  In Ung’s example, the heart is like the bow and the wooden stick attached to the rock. It serves the purpose of launching faith with accuracy and power. Moreover, although a sharp stone makes the best arrow head, a dull arrow launched from a bow is more effective than throwing rocks. If our hearts are right, our faith is released more effectively regardless of whether we have great faith or small faith.

The heart (or subconscious) is where spiritual and carnal knowledge come together. It is here that the decisions about what we truly believe are made. Subconscious thoughts are beneath conscious thoughts. Therefore, they can override conscious thoughts and skew logic and truth. This is why if you tell an alcoholic that they have a problem they will get upset with you. It is because their heart is deceived and is skewing the power of truth. Heart level beliefs create the life that we experience. This is why the Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

                The more ability we have to believe God for things on a subconscious level, the more substance (or faith) we will be able to attach to our words. Unfortunately, many people don’t make the necessary lifestyle choices to change their subconscious thinking. Therefore, they go their whole lives living like Dung. They do things in the most ineffective way possible and look at others in bewilderment and jealousy. What they don’t understand is that all of the perverse media, pornography, foul language, addictions, ungodly relationships, and sin in their lives trump the ability for the power of God to rule in their hearts.

The ability for the power of God to rule in our heart is directly related to the amount of input that we receive from God. Even after we are saved, Christ must dwell in our heart by faith. If he’s not dwelling in our heart, then he’s outside knocking at the door from our spirit (Revelation 3:20). Christ perpetually dwelling in our heart requires that our heart is being programmed according to the word of God. When Paul wrote the following, he was writing to Christians that had already received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He was explaining to them that Christ needed to dwell in their subconscious, the platform from which He could unleash His kingdom through their lives.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts…” (Ephesians 3:17)

In the beginning, the Word of God (Jesus Christ) had the power to create reality (John 1:3). Now, the word of God in our mouths has the power to recreate reality because it is the same power. Reality must be recreated by us because we live in a fallen reality. Our purpose is to bring reality back in line with the kingdom of Heaven. However, the faith that we use to do this is limited by what is going on in our hearts. Are you living like Dung?

There is a third character we haven’t addressed yet. His name is Bond, James Bond. James doesn’t use rocks, he uses guns. Moreover, he never misses.  He goes into the camp of the enemy and leaves it a wasteland. Not only that, he walks away knowing that he makes it look good. After all, he pulls off all of his jobs in a three piece suit.

In this example, the guns represent a heart that has been finely tuned by the presence of Christ in an individual. God’s belief system has overhauled their subconscious. When this happens the heart becomes maximally effective in releasing faith. The bullets represent the lethal force of great faith tearing through the camp of the enemy as a result. This is what happens when a person has both a right heart before God and great faith. Can you imagine an entire army of James Bond’s?

When we consider that faith is the substance that is attached to our words, we begin to have a huge revelation that our words are indeed powerful. Moreover, the more like Christ we become, the more powerful our words get. When we produce words that carry the faith projected by a finely tuned heart, our words reconstruct reality. Jesus illustrated this when he spoke to the storm and it stopped (Mark 4:35-39). When we consider unity, it must be built spiritually before it will exist in the natural. We must speak the unity into existence. Now is the time.

Discussion

1.       When you consider the effectiveness of your faith, with whom do you most closely identify: Dung, Ung, or Bond?

2.       What determines the power of faith that is being projected from us?

3.       The heart can otherwise be understood as what?

4.       Do you feel that God is pleased when He looks upon the thoughts of your heart?

5.       How much faith do you put behind your words, actions, and prayers?