We are at a breaking point - globally, nationally, locally, and even in our individual lives; things are breaking open.
God does not
author evil, confusion, or strife. He does orchestrate the revealing or breaking open of
truths though. And the truth, including the hidden and the ugly, is coming out so the Father can administer the needed correction, change, justice, healing, redemption, and restoration.
Some structures and strongholds must be exposed and torn down because they
have tried to continually exalt themselves against the true knowledge and power of the
Living God.
The root of
this is spiritual; there are demonic strongholds behind it
all.
God is
deconstructing or tearing down these false things. This is messy but worthy work,
which is followed by the construction or building of what is true. And what
is true always has a strong and righteous foundation.
If the foundation is false, weak, and cracked, the whole structure built upon it will become false, weak, and fractured as
well. This is what has happened in many spheres. Therefore, broken foundations and broken hearts are being
revealed.
In this
process of tearing down to rightly build-up, it will always look worse first before it starts to take shape and get better. Nonetheless, it is
necessary for the building of what is righteous and true.
We must remember
Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 6. Our fight is not against flesh and blood
(people). Our fight is against spiritual principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of
this present age, and wickedness in high places.
It is an actual battle of darkness trying to prevail over light.
Let’s define light and darkness better.
God is
Light. There is no darkness in Him whatsoever. None. He operates in complete truth, righteousness, love, mercy, peace, and grace. He not only is a creator, but He is also THE Creator.
Satan is
darkness. But he tries to cloak himself with light to fool people. He
is a liar. He operates in deception, hate, fear, accusation, and exploitation. He is
an imitator and a con artist.
Satan always
tries to emulate, pervert, and distort what God does. He’s a trickster. And sometimes, the Father allows him (evil, wickedness, deception) to be fully seen so that we can fully see
and know the truth of what’s going on. This can be quite jolting, but it’s
necessary.
God operates
on a higher plane. The highest. Everything He does functions to the righteous
utmost. He functions with complete excellence. His agenda is to redeem, restore,
and give life.
Satan
operates on a lower plane. The lowest. He functions in complete contradiction
to God. He and everything associated with him function in evil and darkness, although, as I said, he often tries to disguise it as something good. His
agenda is to kill, steal, and destroy.
God wants to
bless and give life.
Satan wants
to curse and destroy.
We, the people,
can choose, by an act of our wills, to operate and come into agreement with
either the light or the darkness.
We choose.
And whatever
we choose to operate and come into agreement with is what we will empower. It goes even deeper than that. Whoever we accept is who shows up in our lives. We
give legal, spiritual access to whomever or whatever we receive.
The spirit
realm is very real; more real than many people give it validity. Until we get a hold of this, we will often misunderstand the real root of what happens in our lives, society and culture.
There are
two powers and authorities operating in this universe:
God - Jehovah, Yahweh (The
Kingdom of Heaven; light)
and
Satan - Lucifer (The kingdom of darkness; hell).
and
Satan - Lucifer (The kingdom of darkness; hell).
God is the true power and authority. He is greater; He and
His power and authority are ultimate or supreme.
Satan is the
false power and authority. He is lesser; He and his power and authority are subordinate
or inferior.
We are influenced
by our choices; by who and what we allow into our lives. So whoever or
whatever we accept and come into agreement with, is who and what we allow and
give rightful access to us. This defines how we ultimately
function; how we think, speak, and act.
This is how it breaks down: If we give God access, we are influenced by Him and His Kingdom. If we give Satan access, we are influenced by him and his. It can’t be both; it’s one or the other.
This is how it breaks down: If we give God access, we are influenced by Him and His Kingdom. If we give Satan access, we are influenced by him and his. It can’t be both; it’s one or the other.
The truth
is, God is for us.
Satan, the devil is not. But his sham, his smokescreen, is to deceive people into
thinking he is. He wants a foot in the door, so he can work his way in. Remember he likes to cloak himself with light and bits and pieces of truth, but his motive is false. He's false.
This is why we need godly discernment.
Jesus said of
the devil: “…He was a murderer from the
beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he lies, he speaks out of his character, for he is a liar and the
father of lies.” (John 8:44).
Jesus is the true face, the true revelation, of God. And He came in grace to empower us to live in truth.
When we
claim to love and serve God, our lives should genuinely reflect it. The Lord has given us His grace for this, and this would
include what the Scriptures call bearing fruit. But here’s the thing about fruit; we cannot produce it on our own.
Jesus referred to himself as the vine and us the branches, and just as branches cannot bear fruit apart from the vine itself, neither can we apart from Christ. If we stay in Him, He remains in us. Otherwise, it doesn't work.
Jesus referred to himself as the vine and us the branches, and just as branches cannot bear fruit apart from the vine itself, neither can we apart from Christ. If we stay in Him, He remains in us. Otherwise, it doesn't work.
We should also desire to be obedient to what He asks of us. Not in a legalistic, overbearing way, but in the way Jesus walked in faithful obedience to the Father. We should purpose in our hearts to keep His commandments. “If you love me, you will keep my
commandments” (John 14:15).
We cannot give casual lip service to this either. We can't proclaim to live for Him with our words and then deny Him by our lifestyle. While none of us are perfect, we mustn't take lightly that we are living epistles. Indeed, we represent the Lord, and there is a responsibility that comes with it. There is a standard of righteousness, and it is God's standard.
We should produce spiritual fruit that reveals and points others to Jesus and the Kingdom of God. There should be tangible evidence of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives.
We are ever-growing in Him, and we all go through winter seasons in life, however, bearing good fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) should be the norm and not the exception. It should be a natural manifestation of our relationship with Christ.
So let's remember:
We are sons and daughters; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus.
We must embody this truth.
We must embody Him.
And we must be the salt and light we are called to be.
We should produce spiritual fruit that reveals and points others to Jesus and the Kingdom of God. There should be tangible evidence of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives.
We are ever-growing in Him, and we all go through winter seasons in life, however, bearing good fruit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) should be the norm and not the exception. It should be a natural manifestation of our relationship with Christ.
So let's remember:
We are sons and daughters; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus.
We must embody this truth.
We must embody Him.
And we must be the salt and light we are called to be.
Michelle Holderman
Copyright © 2015
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