Plundering the Gates of Hell...

There are times when you start asking the question, “Why?” Times when you start wondering how things are going to play out in the end, why you are doing what you are doing, and how you got there in the first place. There are reasons, but they aren’t clear. There are questions, but no answers. Countless hours of introspection and “what if’s” leave you exhausted until all you can do is cry out to God for mercy.

It is in those times, when the fire is hot and the friction combusts into a flame, that God feels near, yet so far away. It is in those times when we are struggling to get our bearings that even the wisest among us has no answer and the most out-spoken is suddenly speechless. Confidence is shattered and every part of us has to be re-plumblined again.

During times like these, Satan rails an assault against us. He constantly tries to move us from a place of taking the kingdom of heaven by force, to a shut-down, defeated position where we are constantly defending ourselves from demonic assault. Sometimes, we are so shattered that we sit in a corner with our head down and our arms covering us while the enemy beats us and pours out every evil work against us.

It is in that place, that God comes near to the broken-hearted. He will raise the chin of his beloved son or daughter and call them into their identity as Overcomers. God meant us to take the kingdom of heaven by force and if we allow Satan to keep us playing defense, we will never move into being a son of God led by the Spirit of God that brings the kingdom of heaven down to earth.

God gave us a shield of faith to quench every firey dart of the enemy. If we lower our shield through doubt and unbelief, then those firey darts penetrate down to the depths of our soul; but if we raise our defensive armor of faith, salvation, righteousness, truth, and peace, then we stay abiding in the truth of what God says, rather than in the lies that surround us in our experience.

As we put our defense into place by believing what God says in faith, then we are able to go into an offensive striker position and plunder the gates of hell with our offensive weapon—the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. It is not meant to be used as a shield to block the blows of the enemy. It is meant to be used to advance into the kingdom of darkness and plunder it for the Kingdom of God. As sons of God, we are to bring His kingdom down to earth with violence (Matt. 11). This is not a violence against humans, but a violence against the principalities and powers of darkness in heavenly places (Eph. 6).

When Jesus used the Word of God in the desert, Satan shook when He spoke and I’m sure his life flashed before his eyes as Jesus was declaring the kingdom of God and the victory that was about to be accomplished. He was the Living Word made manifest and everywhere He went, He declared, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you,” and it was proven by the signs and wonders that followed.

Every time we release the Word of God, we are releasing the Kingdom of God. The Word of God is powerful. It brings healing, deliverance, salvation, and freedom. Every time it is declared, we are releasing the justice of God against the powers of darkness. We are releasing the justice of God through the blood of Jesus on the Cross.

Ultimately, Jesus will complete the work of justice at His return when He slays the wicked and throws Satan in the pit of hell. At His first coming, Jesus disarmed every principality and power, and nailed every handwritten requirement against us to the cross (Col. 2:14-15). He brought justice through His blood to those who choose to come under His leadership.

But now, we as sons and daughters can work with the Holy Spirit and the plan of God to bring as much of this world under the justice of the blood of Jesus as we possibly can. God allows us to join in the fight and kick Satan in the teeth!

In the end, we win. But I don’t want to be a soldier who sat back in the comfort of his home and cowered in the corner while my brothers and sisters are out in the trenches fighting to take back the land that is rightfully ours. God meant us to have dominion over the earth, and although sin and unrighteousness has led us to do that wrongfully, I want to have a part in bringing Jesus His
inheritance.

So, let us stand up in the confidence of faith in God and begin to take ground and plunder the enemy’s camp. Let’s use that Sword of the Word and begin to see God’s justice break-in and the kingdom of heaven touch earth!

Discovering Desires of the Heart

God has a way of opening our hearts to things at different seasons of life, that we would have never thought of or dreamed about at different points. He has a way of leading that takes us around bends and turns to places we never imagined.

So many times, we set up walls to guard our hearts for fear of the unknown. Not knowing what the future holds, we make internal promises in our hearts like, "I will never do this, or I will do that, I will not be this, or I will not be that..." These promises are usually reactions to wounds, hurts, or injustices that we have seen in the past.

Looking ahead to the plans for our lives, we can make decisions based on avoiding possible outcomes, or try to control situations into developing a certain outcome. All human beings do these types of things at certain points in their lives (except Jesus of course). However, this is not how God intended us to be. This is not a heart-response of love and freedom.

God wants to open our hearts to trusting in His love and affection for us. When we truly open to Him without fears and "what if's," we may find internal desires that we never knew were there. Things that made us afraid, now become wonderful adventures. Things that we always held in derision, now become joys. Things that we thought would be a drudgery to us, now are vivid passions.

As we stare at God and learn who He is, He will open our hearts to become who He made us to be--and it may be a huge surprise to us.

There is no number to how many times I did something I thought I would hate, and found out that I loved it and was designed for that very thing. The only reason I stepped into those things in the first place is because I was walking with the Lord and He gently led me there.

Psalm 37:3-6 says, "Trust in the Lord, & do good. Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday."

If we trust in the Lord, and commit our way to Him, He may bring forth desires that we never even knew were there, and He will take us into an amazing adventure where are hearts are free to love and enjoy the journey unhindered by fear, worry, or walls.