You Too Can Win!

Greetings,

                Let's face it. You want to win. That's why you read motivational articles and listen to motivational speakers. Even watching others win can be fulfilling. Winning is exciting! No one needs to tell you that. This is why people compete to win. Everyone wants to win because winning brings many benefits. It brings recognition, emotional highs, awards, and commemorative plaques.

                I personally believe that winning and the desire to win is actually inherent to human nature. Think about it. Nobody competes to lose. Even little children grasp this concept. Winning means victory, and with victory comes positive emotions. Even in the odd case that people are competing to quote on quote "lose", the ability to "lose" changes its significance in that the one who loses actually wins. If people are competing, there is a winner, and thus winning is inherent to human nature.

                The proper question is not: do you want to win? The answer to this question is yes. Instead, the right question is: are you winning, and if not, why not? This means that regardless of what has happened, you want your marriage to win. The circumstances may make winning in this area feel so far from reality that you think you want to lose, but remember that losing is against your nature.  You want to win in your job. You want to win with the house you buy. You want to win with the friends that you have. You want to win in the relationship you share with your children. You want to win period!  Therefore, if you are not pursuing victory in your life, you are living contrary to your nature.

                Why is this important to understand? Sometimes people can experience enough loss that they forget their inherent nature. For instance, maybe they lost their first love. They lost their parents before graduating high school. They lost their first child to a rare disease. They lost their virginity to a rapist. They lost, and it corrupted the way they view themselves and their ability to win. Therefore they begin to live contrary to their nature. They accept defeat and they learn coping mechanisms. This is the person that considers themselves a "loser." Sure enough, as this person continually makes decisions out of this flawed perspective of their identity, others will begin to consider this person a loser as well.

                You may know a so-called "loser". Maybe you are a so-called "loser". Either way, to live the life of a  "loser" is to live a life contrary to human nature. This is important to understand, because if you have considered yourself a loser, then this is your wake-up call. Put simply, you too can win! Stop living contrary to your nature! If you  are reading this and thinking: who are you to tell me I can win...then I have news for you. Your circumstances no longer have to be your problem. I have a solution that trumps everything you've suffered and endured. I have a solution that will liberate you from every blockade and barrier that has ever held you back in life. Are you ready for it? His name is Jesus.

                Now before you wave your hand and tell yourself, "I've heard that  before," let me ask you a question. Have you really? The problem is, if we think we know Jesus and we are still losing we are truly living a life of deception. We are living in a void of lies and using our own will to enforce our failing approach to life. Allow me to explain how this works. Jesus is the ultimate example of victory. Out of His own mouth came the words, "I have overcome the world."

                So what does this have to do with you? Everything—and now it's time to learn why. In the book of 1 John 5:4 it says, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Here is my point. If a person is born of God they overcome the world—period. Moreover, the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. In other words our ability to trust God becomes a major determining factor in our ability to win!

                Let me put this another way. God is your maker. He knows that He designed you to win. Hopefully at this point you have also realized that you were designed to win. So what's your problem? Why do you keep losing? Why does your marriage fail? Why did you lose that promotion? Why couldn't you even win the friendly game of Monopoly last night? I am partly joking about that last item, but here is my point. The problem is that you were not born into winning circumstances. It is called the curse, it is called death, it is called original sin.

                In other words God designed humans to be winners. When Adam and Eve sinned in that garden, death entered and the curse of sin came upon us. This placed us in a state whereby losing  became a very real aspect of life. This created a dichotomy in that while losing is a very real part of life that can be difficult to overcome, there is an element of our very nature that longs to win in every situation. So how is Jesus the solution to this problem? He came to destroy the power of death and remove the curse. He did this so that we could reign in life through Him. "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17)."

                Do you know what I call reigning in life? I call that victory! I call that winning. Jesus is the game changer. Jesus came to replace fallen realities with new creation realities. As a new creation in Christ... you too can win!

                                                                                                                ___

                Keep in mind that our radio program is available as well! Details are below.

                 Air Time: Tuesdays at 7:00 pm CST/8:00 pm EST

                Audio Only (Plus Archives): http://www.blogtalkradio.com/discoveringthetruth

                Video (Live Feed Only): www.discoveringthetruthwithdanduval.com

               Also if you haven't yet gotten your hands on the new book Wounded by Leadership or my first book Noah's Ark and the End of Days, check them out and get your copy today!

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.

Overcoming Discouragement

Greetings,

                So you're discouraged. I get that. Life is hard, and anyone that said it was easy—they lied. Maybe you're in the midst of a difficult break-up. Maybe you are watching in disbelief as your marriage is falling to pieces. You may have just found out that you're the next mother of a pregnant teenager, and she's already four-months pregnant. Maybe your children are in gross rebellion, and while you don't want to admit it, all you can do is blame yourself and your own shortcomings.

                You may be discouraged because of that addiction you can never overcome. Is it alcohol? Maybe it's marijuana? Or is your demon even more insidious, like cocaine or heroin? Maybe your battle is with pornography or masturbation. Maybe, it's simply the cyclical self-defeating ideologies that play over and over in your head like a broken record player. Whatever boat you find yourself in, you are hurting. When you sit back and attempt to assess your life, you are overwhelmed by a horrific sinking feeling. You feel like wasted life.

                Discouragement is difficult. When a person is engaged in this battle, it is like trying to wrestle their way out from under a ten thousand pound cinder block. I've been there. Weakness overtakes us no matter what strategy we attempt to implement. It's like trying to start a car with no gas. Even with a fresh coat of wax and brand new rims—even with a pricy clean up job—it's not going anywhere. The engine will try to start: but it will fail. As the driver, you eventually give up, lean back in your chair, and resolve that under the present circumstances, you are not going anywhere.

                Maybe you are the one that has paid for seminars, self-help books, counseling, and still have yet to see the change you need. You are like that freshly waxed car. Your head is full of great advice. You know things that have worked for others. Maybe you even spoke some of that knowledge and watched it bless someone else. But you, that's different. You have no results. You have more failure. You have more discouragement. Discouragement and hopelessness are a dynamic duo, and they dynamically oppress your life. What can you do?

                Unfortunately, I must admit upfront that there is no way a single article can solve all of the complexities of your situation. However, I believe that there are certain key insights that may start you down a path that will ultimately introduce you to the victory you have so longed for. The truth of the matter is that I have battled with discouragement. Frankly put, there are moments that I still battle with discouragement. The difference for me is that I now understand the true nature of my battle with discouragement. Before I realized its true nature, I got my butt kicked every time!

                Before I disclose the true nature of my battle with discouragement I want to make one thing clear. Physiological chemical imbalances can lead to feelings of discouragement. If a simple change in diet or some herbal supplements solve your feelings of discouragement, this is clearly the source of your problems. If these changes have no impact, then your battle with discouragement runs deeper. For you, my personal insights may prove exceptionally helpful.

                In the year of 2011 I went on a unique type of fast. I fasted all media and forms of electronic entertainment. This meant no movies, no TV, no video games, etc. I took it a step further and even fasted entertainment in the form of fiction novels and other publications designed to provide entertainment. This may have been easier if I was working a full-time job, but for the majority of the year I wasn't working at all. I literally prayed, studied, and wrote all day long. Can you imagine? It was the ultimate attempt to sever myself from all things worldly and totally immerse myself into the things of God. This fast went on without interruption for a literal 365 days. Under such circumstances, most would simply assume that I ate and slept the glory and presence of God.

                Contrary to popular thought, this was not quite the case. Don't get me wrong, it worked to greatly accelerate certain works of God in my personal life, and I did have incredible moments with God that in some ways are impossible to describe with words. However, the majority of my day-to-day life was repetitive. I read so many non-fiction books on God and the Bible that all of the information began to repeat itself. There were many times that I found myself incredibly bored. However, the biggest challenge (at least initially) was discouragement. About three months into the fast discouragement hung onto me so heavily that felt like my physical body would literally collapse under the weight of it. Where was this discouragement coming from?

                This is when I began to understand in a very personal way that my battle with discouragement was spiritual. It was an attack on my life because the enemy hated the way I was sacrificing myself to go deeper with God. Thus discouragement was given an assignment to not only stifle my ability to engage God during the fast but also to interrupt the fast if at all possible.

                It was a few days into this horrific attack that God spoke to me about starting a prayer team. I contacted several close and trusted believers and formed a team of people to pray me through that year. I want to take a moment to give a very special shout-out to my Mom, Fabienne, Martyne, Becky, and my Grandparents for making up my prayer team that year. The impact: within days of linking arms with these other believers the power of discouragement was broken (in addition to numerous other answered prayers). It was a battle I wasn't yet strong enough to win myself. I needed others to stand with me, and in unity there was victory. If you are like I was, and nothing you've done has worked, I urge you to surround yourself with others. Christianity is a team effort. We need the support and prayers of others to win!

___

                Don't forget to check us out on Discovering the Truth with Dan Duval which airs live every Tuesday night at 7:00 pm CST! Please Like us and also Follow us for weekly updates!

                Audio Only (Plus Archives): http://www.blogtalkradio.com/discoveringthetruth

                Video (Live Feed Only): www.discoveringthetruthwithdanduval.tk

Authority on the Job

Greetings,

                There it is. It's the same sarcastic smile you are greeted with every morning. Yuck! The receptionist, who puts on an air of friendliness for everyone else, makes no effort to hide her distaste about you. It's no mystery as to why she does this. She gave you the same air of friendliness until she found about you and the C-word. That's right, the day she found out you were a Christian everything changed. Unfortunately it wasn't just her.

                Others began to act funny around you. Then you started getting accused of being ignorant and judgmental. You weren't consciously judging anyone, but you were labeled because you are Christian. Suddenly, you became a magnet for negativity. Why would people intentionally ostracize you? Why would people go out of their way to tell dirty jokes right in front of you as often as possible? Could it be because you are Christian? Of course.

                It can be challenging to balance our spiritual persuasions while working in a secular field. There is no doubt that the easiest thing to do with our religious convictions is to keep them to ourselves. The reason is because when we begin to become vocal with our coworkers about what we believe, people can begin to respond negatively. So what can we do about this?

                I have found myself in several awkward situations at the various jobs I have held in the past. I don't expect this to change for jobs that I will hold in the future. Since I tend to be rather straight forward about my relationship with Jesus, this is something I have simply come to accept. However, I have learned that there is an edge that I will always have over those that seek to create problems for me. I have an awesome prayer life!

                "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)

                While I do not discount practical tips and tricks for making peace and keeping friends, there is a very real spiritual element to every situation. On this note we must always remember that our battle is not against people, but against evil spirits in the kingdom of darkness. As a matter of fact, what I have learned is that there are key evil spirits that oversee the activity occurring in just about every business. These spirits are usually things like alcoholism, drug abuse, gossip, revenge, hatred, slander, antichrist, jezebel and so forth. It's usually very easy to tell what kind of spirits are in operation by simply having a keen eye and picking up on the obvious. If you know what everyone did last weekend (without any specific individual telling you their own story) it is pretty easy to conclude that a spirit of gossip is at work. If there is a strong rebuttal every time the name of Jesus is brought up, there is probably a spirit of antichrist.

                "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:3)

               

                In order to circumvent the strategies of the enemy, we must remind ourselves about who we are in Christ. We must then exert the authority that Jesus has given us. In Him we have been given power over the power of the enemy. This is relevant for every setting and situation. It doesn't matter if we are not in the church building. God intends for us to partner with Him to the end that the works of the devil are destroyed. As it is written:

                " Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19)

                Whenever I am working a secular job I make sure to bind all of the evil spirits and activities I have identified (or that the Lord has pointed out to me). This is not something I do only once on my first day of work. This is something that I do daily during my morning prayers. I have found that when I bind the works of darkness and loose the things of God, my work environment is radically changed in my favor. It actually positions me for favor with my superiors. Moreover, it breaks the spiritual resistance to the testimony of Jesus Christ. This means that it is much easier to engage coworkers, pray with coworkers, and even lead coworkers to Christ. Now that is what I call the ideal work environment!

                "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18)

How To Stop Nightmares

Greetings,

                You are waking up in a cold sweat. Your heart is frantically beating, trying to escape from its place in your chest. You have stress, anxiety and fear all at the same time. Surrounded by darkness, you are trying to collect your thoughts. Your palms are sweating,  and you're breathing is heavy. What is going on? As the moments pass ,you begin to settle down. There is no threat. You are safely in your bed. Then you realize that it was all a dream. Or should I say, a nightmare?

                Nightmares are the dreams that no one wants to have. They are scary, disturbing, and unpleasant. The evil that accompanies them can be felt, sometimes even after we have awakened from them. We have been in a long series on spiritual warfare. This week we will learn how to apply spiritual warfare techniques to solve the problem of nightmares.

                The first thing that we need to understand about dreams is that they have three main sources.

1.       Dreams can be inspired by the Holy Spirit (the kingdom of light)

2.       Dreams can be inspired by our own anxieties, passions, and experiences

3.       Dreams can be inspired by demonic entities (the kingdom of darkness)

True nightmares are often inspired from the kingdom of darkness. While we can have "nightmares" that are not inspired by the kingdom of darkness, these are not the ones that this email is going to focus on. How can we tell the difference? When the nightmares include a component of evil that can be "felt," it is a good indicator that the dream has been inspired by the kingdom of darkness. If the source is normal stress or anxiety, the dreams are typically not much more than unpleasant.

For instance, when I was waiting tables years ago I had a dream that I was waiting on two tables at opposite ends of a mall! No matter how hard I tried it was impossible to keep up with the pace of the meal that these guests were trying to enjoy. This dream was unpleasant by every definition, and I could feel overwhelming stress the whole time. However, without a "presence" of evil in dream, this "nightmare" was most likely not inspired by the kingdom of darkness.

On another occasion (years ago) I had what I will consider a true nightmare. In this situation, I had a sinking feeling throughout the entire dream. As it continued, I kept going lower and lower into this sewer type area. The lower I went, the more threatened I felt. Eventually I encountered this guy that keep pushing me back. The further back I was pushed, the more the feeling of threat increased. At the end of the dream I found myself isolated in what seemed like a cell, awaiting impending doom. Instead of sticking around for the inevitable, I woke myself up. I immediately began to pray.

I have had many unpleasant experiences in my sleep that were distributed to me by the kingdom of darkness. Some of you reading this may be resonating with my experience. You may have experienced death, torture, terror, worst case scenarios, violence, humiliation, or things that are even worse in dreams.

I have learned that the enemy is always going to be a coward. Instead of confronting peoples strongest points, he will always prey on their weaknesses. He also never sleeps. The enemy is just as interested in attacking people in their sleep as he is during their waking hours. In order to sabotage his efforts to attack me in my sleep, what I do is prepare. Since I am not going to be conscious in order to conduct any necessary spiritual warfare, I have to make sure that I won't have to. You can think about it like this. Who is safer: the man who sleeps in the grass in the middle of a large field or the man who sleeps in a fortress surrounded by armed guards.

Many people don't consider that because we are members of the kingdom of light, we actually have the ability to go to sleep in a spiritual fortress. Instead of taking advantage of these potential sleeping conditions, many Christians opt to simply sleep with no defenses. These vulnerable Christians will inevitably suffer more attacks in their sleep. This will be especially true when personal revival for the individual begins to take place.

In order to go to sleep in a spiritual fortress, we have to rely on the spiritual principles that God has given us. He gave us a tongue with which to speak. As we speak in faith, our spoken (not politely thought in our head) words will actually create realities in the spirit realm. This is why the Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those that love it will eat of its fruit (Proverbs 18:21). We use our tongue to speak out the situation that we will be sleeping in.

The next step is to use the promises that God has given us. The way promises work in the Christian faith is that we have to give our yes to God's yes. In other words, there are promises that are waiting for us to grab a hold of. However, before we experience their impact we have to agree with them and begin to declare them with our mouths. According to the following verse, we see that God has already given His yes and His Amen to all of His promises towards us. By agreeing with His promises and experiencing their impact, we will actually bring God glory.

"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." (2 Corinthians 1:20)

Understanding this, our next step is to find our ideal sleeping conditions in His Word. The following are the scriptures and quotes that I speak over myself before going to sleep every night. By doing this prior to going to sleep every night, I rarely if ever have to deal with nightmares.

Scriptures

"When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." (Proverbs 3:24)

"There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." (Psalm 91:10)

"No weapon formed against thee shall prosper" (Isaiah 54 :17)

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." (Psalm 91:2)

"So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19)

Quotes

"Father, I cancel all nightmares in Jesus' name. I thank you in advance that tonight all of my dreams will be inspired by Your Holy Spirit."

"Father, I pray right now that a hedge of protection is established round about my house (based on Job 1:10)"

"Father, I pray that angels would guard this house round about, both above and below, in the name of Jesus (based on Psalm 91:11, Matthew 26:53, Hebrews 1:14)"

"Father, I plead the blood of Jesus over myself, my house, and all of my property in the name of Jesus (based on Revelation 12:11)"

"Father, I pray that every curse, hex, spell, divination, demon, human spirit, form of voodoo, spiritual assignment, and any other unnamed work of darkness sent against me be rendered powerless in the name of Jesus (based on Luke 10:19)" [note: in some cases you can even pray that these things would be reversed upon the heads of the senders that they would know that Jesus is Lord... it works]

Happy sleeping!