Know God: Father to Be Honored & Revered

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence?” Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’” (Malachi 1:6)

Interesting passage. We always think of the Love of the Father, but we do not always think of the honor and reverence toward the Father. In this passage of the book of Malachi, the Lord rebukes His priests for not showing honor and reverence toward Him as a Father and Master.

There were several areas that He addressed throughout the book of Malachi.

1.  Heart position lacking honor and reverence.
2. Offering the leftover and unwanted portions as tithes and offerings
3. Fully withholding tithes
4.  Forsaking their wives and children, divorce, unfaithfulness in the family.

And there were several promises and consequences if those things changed or did not change.

And the prayers of the priests were not accepted, because these heart positions and actions were not changed. God even said basically in a paraphrase, “I see your tears, but I will pay no attention to them…” because the actions were not reflecting the right heart posture of honor and reverence toward God.

Now, this may seem heavy for many reading it, and it is. But as we looked in the previous session at Hebrews 4 – the loving Father who corrects – this is all the one and same Person, who is doing this. He loves us, but part of His love toward us is pruning and refining us. And if we are submissive and humble ourselves before Him, we will be changed and we will become more like Him – holy as He is holy.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:1-6). If we want to know God, then we must have a healthy fear of Him. This is not the ungodly fear spoken of in I John 4, but the holy, godly, fear of the Lord that shows honor and reverence to Him and is aware that He is much higher and bigger than us.

Scripture: “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence?” Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’” (Malachi 1:6)

Prayer: Turn this passage into a dialogue with God. Ask Him in your own words if there is any place in your life where you have “despised His name” or have not showed honor and reverence to His name.

Listen: Pause and see if anything comes to your mind. Maybe there is something even from one of the things that God had rebuked the priests for.

Repent (Confess/Turn): If there is anything that comes up in your heart that you feel you have done wrong or that you have not honored the Lord in, then confess that to Him by telling Him and asking Him for forgiveness. Ask Him if there is anything you can do to make it right (for example: paying tithes, restoring relationships with family), etc.

Repentance means to stop going in the direction you are going and completely turn in the opposite direction. So, if you have confessed and repented in an area, then ask the Lord how you can replace that action or heart position with a new one that shows Him honor and reverence.

Write: Write these things down, and keep a record of them. Make concrete goals and action steps and set certain times that you will go back and visit them and realign yourself to them.

God is Love: Love Is...

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Interesting, this is one of the most quoted and most familiar passages in the Bible, but I almost always hear it taught from a specific perspective – the perspective of our love towards others. This is used as the main passage at weddings and the main passage for teaching children --how to be nice, and the main standard for how we treat each other in church. And all of that is good, of course, but I think we might be starting from the wrong foundation.

If God is Love, then this passage is about God. And this passage is about His Love – His Love that He has toward us. As we studied in the last session, we see that “We love God, because He first loved us” (I John 4:19). Therefore our love for Him starts with Him. Furthermore, our love for others should also start with Him.

The First Commandment is “love God with all your heart soul, mind, and strength,” and the second is “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22). But how can we love our neighbor as ourself if we hate ourselves, or cannot receive God’s love for us personally? So, the key to loving God and loving others is first receiving His love toward us.

So now, let’s look at this passage a little differently – “Love is patient and kind, does not envy, does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, etc…” If God is Love, then you could actually substitute the word "God" here in place of "love." “God is patient and kind, does not envy, does not parade Himself, is not proud (puffed up), is not rude, does not seek His own…”

This is actually a description of Who God is in His very nature. Which means, that we can look at this passage as the way God relates toward us. You can say, “He is patient with me. He is kind to me. He does not envy, He is not prideful, He doesn’t show off to put others down, etc…”

When you begin to think about this passage as the way God relates to you, then you will start to feel a thankfulness, and tenderness about His love toward you, and you will be able to receive His love and His thoughts and His affections toward you. When that happens, you will also be able to love others – not from your own striving or attempt to love them, but from an overflow of the Love of God that you have already received in your heart.

So let’s pray this now.

Scripture: “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Prayer: “Jesus, Your love is patient and kind. It does no wrong. You do not envy and are not prideful. You humbled Yourself and gave Your life freely on the Cross. Thank you, Father. Fill me with your love, today. Let Your love fill my heart, and help me to love others from Your love.”

In your own words: Talk to Jesus about this passage. Focus on the area that you struggle in the most. Let Him talk to you about it.

Listen: Pause and listen for what He might say to you about His love for you. Maybe there is an area where you are not patient with yourself or kind to yourself. Talk to Him about that, and let Him show you His patience and His kindness toward you.

Write: Write in a journal or notes about what you are feeling and experiencing with the Lord in this passage. Write out certain scriptures or phrases that touch you. Go back and read this when you are feeling unloved or unwanted.

For further ideas and tools, look at the earlier sessions in this “Knowledge of God Blog Series; Part 1 – God is Love.”

God is Love: No Fear in Love

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:17-19)

We are going to be filled with something. But in order to get rid of darkness, the answer is not to try to cast out the darkness, but to turn on the light. What is the antidote to fear? Love. Perfect love casts out all Fear. God is Love and He is perfect, and His love toward us is perfect. How can we be filled with more of His Love and be free of fear? We need to “behold” (look, think deeply, meditate, chew on in thought) His Love for us.

I John 3: 1-3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

In this passage, John actually says, “Behold” or look, gaze, meditate on, chew on, think deeply about -- God’s love. And specifically, in this passage, it says to think deeply about His love as a Father, and our position or identity as His children. In the last lesson, we looked at God’s love through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and in this lesson, we are looking at the Love of God as a Father to His children.

When we want to get the Love of God deep into us, or know an attribrute or characteristic of God more, we need to study those passages of Scripture about Him, but also, we need to look at various ways those Scriptures can get deep into our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits, so that we can love God with all of our being (Matt. 22:33-40).

And right now, we are focusing on God’s love as a Father that fills us and casts out fear. Romans 8:15-16 further develops this thought, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”

Again, here we see that our identity as children of God frees us from every fear. But how can we be filled with God’s love and be freed from fear? The key to this is in I John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us” – which means that the love that we have for God, and God’s love that we can feel does not originate with us, but it originates with God. But does that mean that we are helpless to do anything about receiving the Love of God? The answer is no, of course not.

God is Love, which means that His love is ALWAYS there, whether we feel it or not, whether we experience or see it manifesting as a reality in our lives. It is there and exists and is moving constantly. But we need to receive it, and how we do it goes back to this idea of “Beholding” (look, meditate, think deeply, chew on, etc). 

2 Corinthians 3:18 says that, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This means that in order to transform (change) our thoughts, emotions, and will (choices, decisions, desires) that we need to behold (look, meditate, chew on, etc) the Glory of God – or His attributes, characteristics. This is why growing in the knowledge of God is so important – not only in head knowledge, but heart knowledge, and relational experience with Him. And we do that through praying, singing, and interacting with Scripture until it becomes a part of us and changes us.

So, let’s try that today with beholding the Love of God. Try these interactive methods of praying Scripture, and adapt them to how you see fit. You can even try this as a family with your kids, or your spouse, or with a group of friends, as well as alone in your quiet time with Jesus.

Scripture:

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:17-19)

Prayer Points:

• Jesus, I just declare who You are. You are Love. I worship You, and behold You as Love today. I want to behold and ponder Your Love as a Father toward me and How great Your Love is toward me!

• Your love is GREAT toward me, Lord! I thank You and Praise You for it.

• Show me how much You love me today, and let me feel Your Love and know it personally deep inside.

• I give you all of my fears. You said those who are in fear have not been made perfect in love. So, I give you my fear today – my fear of …….. and I ask that You would make me perfect in Love. And you would cast all fear out of my mind, will, and emotions.

• Holy Spirit, you said that those led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God, and we have not been given a bondage of fear, but a spirit of adoption. And so I cry out to you, “Abba! Father!” Come and touch me. Come and hold me. Come and give me peace. Fill me with Your love today.

• Give me boldness. Give me boldness to speak your Word to my friends and neighbors. Give me boldness to live without fear in an unstable environment.

• Make me perfect in love, Father.

• I just set my eyes on Your love today. I behold it. I receive it. It is wonderful and it is perfect. I love You, because You first loved me. You are the beginning of love and your love is eternal. Thank you, Father. I love you!

Sing: You can do this a Capello or turn on a little instrumental music or grab an instrument, and sing these phrases and prayers, and allow them to go even deeper into your heart. Allow your own words and thoughts to come out of your spirit. Allow yourself to take more or less time as you need it, and open your heart to God.

Listen: Ask Jesus to talk to You about His love for you, and just take a few minutes to pause in silence and see if He shows You anything. You might feel certain fears come up inside of you. Tell Jesus about them and ask Him to take those fears out of your life. Declare His Love and truth over yourself. Pause to see if you feel or sense anything that He might be saying to you. See if He brings anyone to your mind to pray for and pray for Him to show His love to them.

Write: Write down your thoughts or impressions in a journal, and write the different Scriptures that touched you the most, and maybe some of the reasons why they impacted you so much in this season. In times when you need encouragement, go back and read them and speak them over yourself again.

Draw or color: This is especially great for kids, or creative types. Close your eyes, and ask Jesus to give you a picture of His love for you, or have your kids do this. And then have them draw or color what they saw.

Know God: God is Love

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (I John 4:14-16)

God is Love. It is the very nature of who He is. Even if he punishes, corrects, or carries out justice – It is done in Love, because that is His very nature. He is like a loving father who corrects his children so that they become good adults (Hebrews 12).

Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” It means that love is not based on a feeling. It is not based on a circumstance or what is happening around us. It is not based on whether we have money this month or we lost it. It is not based on whether the healing came or did not come. The Love of God is based on this: That Jesus Christ came into the world to die for us while we were yet sinners, and He gave His own life for us.

“Greater Love has no man than this, that a man would lay down His life for His friends.” (John 15:13).

God already showed His love to us by His completed work on the Cross and that should be our anchor in the midst of chaos when we feel that God does not love us. It is at exactly that time when we need to believe.

Here are some prayer points to pray this Scripture into you, so that it becomes not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge. Pray these out loud to yourself, adding things as you feel in your heart.

Scripture: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (I John 4:14-16)

Prayer Points:

• Jesus, help Your Word come alive in my thoughts and in my heart.

• Jesus, I testify and believe that You are the Savior of the world.

• I confess that You are the Son of God.

• Help me to abide (live, dwell) in You, and in Your Presence. Help me to live in Your Love. Help me to receive Your Love.

• I know Your Love, and I believe in Your Love, but help me know Your Love more and believe Your Love more. Help me to feel it and experience it, even when outside circumstances are telling me differently.

• God, You are Love. Jesus, You are Love. Help me to know you more as Love. Unconditional. Pure. Help me know True Love that has no end. Help me to know You and experience You as Love in Person.

• I love you, Jesus. Help me to love You more. Help me to live in Your love today and show Your love to others.

Sing: Also, feel free to turn on a little instrumental music or grab your instrument, and sing these phrases and prayers, and allow them to go even deeper into your heart. Allow your own words and thoughts to come out of your spirit.

Listen: Ask Jesus to talk to You about His love for you, and just take a few minutes to pause and see if He shows You anything. Ask Him to talk to you about His love for others. And pause to see if you feel or sense anything.

Write: Write down your thoughts, or impressions in a journal, and write different Scriptures that touch you. In times when you need encouragement, go back and read them.

The Risk of Love

Some things in life are worth taking a risk. Some things we just cannot pass up. So, we take a deep breath and jump. Those times when we jump out can either be the most beautiful or the most heart-wrenching—and we never know which one it is until the end.

Jesus took a risk for us, a self-less, heart-wrenching risk. And it seemed as though His risk failed. To the world, it did. But in truth, Jesus’ risk was no failure. Actually, it was the greatest accomplishment the world has ever seen.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Jesus laid down His life for the world. To men, it may have seemed like the most foolish risk; yet, it was the greatest love.

Jesus gave absolutely everything; and yet, He still gave man the ability to choose or reject His love.

There is no greater pain in the world than the rejection of wholehearted love. That’s the way Jesus feels every time one of His children walks away from Him. But the good news is that Jesus promised He would never reject wholehearted love from us.

Love is the ultimate risk. It makes you do things that you never would do otherwise. There is no fear in love. There is no failure in love. Love never fails. Love also never seeks its own. It is never arrogant or selfish. Love hopes. Love believes. Love is patient. Love waits.

Love never imposes itself on the freewill of another. Love allows choice. Love allows time. Love allows distance, but always wants to be close.

We may take daring risks with things in the natural world without ever daring a risk of the heart. A risk of the heart is one of the most vulnerable risks possible. It is the risk of hope, risk of faith, and risk of love that matter the most. But the greatest of these is love. It’s worth the risk.

Staying Tough & Tender

As we walk out our relationship with the Lord, it is necessary that we remain tough to persevere through the hard times when the difficulties of life come against us. However, we also must remain tender to freely give love & receive love. It is a fine line that we must walk & also a progressive growth as we mature.

As people are learning to walk this out, the young ones typically swing from one extreme to the other—either finding their identity completely in what people think or who tells them to do what—or becoming totally rebellious & blocking people out of their lives & hearts altogether.

Many times, those older have been burned so much that they shut their passion & emotions down, so that they do not feel. They do not take the risk of opening their heart anymore, because they do not want to feel the pain of rejection or the pain of watching someone walk away.

This is often seen in evangelism & discipleship, because people get tired of reaching out with their whole heart, then watching the people walk away from God. It is also seen in marriage & relationships. Also, this kind of thing can happen in people who reach out for healing or the supernatural.

The way we remain tough in perseverance, however, is not to wall off our heart, but to plumb-line our spirits with the Word of God where we believe it absolutely 100%--even when we do not see a manifestation of it at the present time. Also, we keep our heart & emotions tender by constantly dialoguing with the Lord over the Word, our emotions, & our present circumstances.

Looking at the life of Jesus, He was the most tough, persevering hero throughout history; yet he was also extremely tender, loving, & compassionate. Everything He did was full of passion. As we learn to walk out life in friendship with Jesus, we will continue to grow tough towards opposition, but tender & loving towards God’s people & the things that are on His heart.

The Spontaneity of Love

Last night, I was reading the devotional for April 30th from Oswald Chamber's classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest. He talked about how love was spontaneous. It is not something that we work up or premeditate for a long time. He talked about how true love flows like a fountain from God & bubbles up out of us to other people.

This really got me thinking. So many times, we find ourselves trying to figure out how to love & how to express love. Sometimes it seems like an obligation to us or our hearts are kept in so much bondage that we cannot receive love ourselves in order to give it out to others.

However, God designed us to freely receive His love & freely give it. When we are grounded in His love, we are able to be ourselves & love flows naturally through the way we express it in our personality.

In the book The Shack, William P. Young writes about the difference between expectation & expectancy. He says that love is fearless but so many times we are afraid to truly love so we try to control the future through expectations. The problem is that when the expectations are unmet, we are dissappointed & even heart broken. However, that is not the way love is intended to be.

Love is supposed to be full of expectancy of what the other person is going to do, & filled with excitement about who that person is. The expectancy of love allows us to enjoy another person for who they are without trying to control them by who we think they should be.

We can even apply this to ourselves as well. So many times, we fail even our own false expectations of ourselves, but when the love of God fills our hearts, we are able to be who God made us to be & live in the way of spontaneous love.

Devo 64: Keep Me in Perfect Peace

Devo 64: Keep Me in Perfect Peace March 29, 2010

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength.

Isaiah 26:3-4

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You,”—what a remarkable statement. What would it be like to be “kept in perfect peace”?

There is a saying when someone is contemplating the validity of a decision—whether it is good or bad. One might say that they “have a peace of mind” about something, or they do not have a peace of mind about something. But, what would it be like to be “kept” in a peace of mind? Wow.

If there was a pill that would give someone true “peace of mind” around the clock, 24/7, 365—with no side effects, that pill would probably be one of the most expensive, hottest commodities on the planet. The people who produced it and owned rights to it would be the richest people in the world.

Everyone knows this is true. So many people in the world are on anti-depressants right now that the numbers are staggering. Even though those drugs may help, however, they could never possibly “keep a mind in perfect peace.” They may help with anxiety and nervousness, but they create all other kinds of problems—mood swings, blood pressure side effects, financial burdens, demonic dreams, nightmares, hot flashes, etc...

Other drugs are the same way. People try to medicate their minds with all kinds of things. They want to “numb out,” “veg out,” “check out”—and every other kind of “out” possible, because their minds never stop processing everything that is happening in their lives, and they can never possibly understand it all or react correctly to it all. The swirl of activity causes people to run to anything possible to get away from that constant stream of thoughts pulsating through their minds and reacting to everything that happens.

Some people react to things in their lives by becoming dead to their emotions and to things happening around them. They put up walls and blockades, and become so calloused to outside influences that they never really feel anything and never really attach to anyone. They become numb to the point that they are not even real with themselves.

Others interact with their surroundings by being influenced and persuaded by everyone and everything that comes across their path and they continue to spiral downhill until something catastrophic happens in their lives. They are such chameleons that they do not even know who they are or what they like.

Of course, both of these are extreme cases and stereotype people somewhat, but many people fall into one of these categories when they lack the influence of the Lord, or if they have not been continually receiving healing in their walk with the Lord.

But, can you imagine what it would be like to always, always, always have perfect peace in your mind and in your soul? That would be incredible.

This verse says that God will keep us in perfect peace if our minds are fixed on Him. Not only are our minds fixed on Him, but we trust Him. Not only do we trust Him, but our minds are fixed on a certain revelation of who He is. We trust His name as “everlasting strength.”

He is everlasting strength. It is His nature. Some translations say that He is the “everlasting rock” or “Rock of Ages.” He is unmovable. He will never leave or never be moved. That is the foundation for our trust in Him, and the reason for our perfect peace. He will never move, never leave, and never forsake us (Heb. 13:5).

In Romans 8:6, Paul says that being carnally (or fleshly) minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. That life and peace comes through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. When we have that steadfast communion with Him, we can stay in that life and peace of mind. And it's free! We do not have to pay a thing for it. This peace has already been paid for.

Jesus told us to abide (remain) in Him and in His love and He would abide (remain) in us (Jn. 15:4-9). When we do that, we are constantly in the Spirit and not in the flesh. The only alternative to being in the Spirit is being in the flesh. If we remain in the Spirit, we can rest in the fact that we are resting on the Rock of Ages, and we can be kept in perfect peace.

Of course, none of that is easy—nor has it ever been perfectly accomplished by any human being other than Jesus, but it is worth it—and the alternatives aren’t that great anyway.

God is willing for us to have peace at all times. That is His desire. However, that does not mean that the circumstances surrounding us will be peaceful, but that in whatever circumstances, we can have absolute perfect peace, if we are keeping our minds on the fact that God is our Rock.

So here is a good prayer to pray: “Lord, keep my mind stayed on You. Keep Me in perfect peace. Show me how You are my Rock. Show me how You are The Rock of Ages. Reveal to me how You are everlasting strength and that I can put my trust in You. Take away everything in me that keeps me from trusting You or seeing you in a right way. I want to walk in the Spirit and be kept in perfect peace. I love You, Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings,
Amanda

Devo 58: There is no Fear in Love

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

I John 4:17-18

As the world continues to spiral downward in economics, politics, morals, spiritual decline, crime, etc…many people find themselves terribly afraid. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of debt, fear of loss, fear of men, fear of rejection, fear of pain, fear, fear, fear…Fear is one of the most paralyzing influences on a person.

Many people struggle with fear. Even those who seem confident in outward appearance are, many times, terribly afraid on the inside. However, people will cover up fear with anything and everything, filling their lives with lots of “noise” to keep themselves from being alone and afraid.

Jesus said that in the last days, men’s hearts will fail from the “fear and expectation of things to come” (Lk 21:26). Basically, men will have heart attacks from the fear of the future—fear of the unknown, uncertainty, insecurity. The world will be rampant with fear in the last days.

However, as sons and daughters of God, fear is not our inheritance. Our inheritance is the spirit of adoption that cries out “Abba! Father!” and breaks the bondage of fear! (Rom. 8:15). Our inheritance is the love of the Father. His perfect love casts out all fear.

I John 3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God!” Then, I John 4 talks about this love and how it is manifested to us and through us. It is in this context that John speaks of love being made perfect among us, which casts out fear.

When this love is perfected, it also gives us boldness in the Day of Judgment. This is our inheritance, because even though we may not know individual twists and turns such as finances, deaths, disasters…etc, we know the ultimate outcome. We know that Jesus is coming back and He will make the wrong things right. We know what He says in Revelation and other books concerning the things to come. We are instructed in how to carry our hearts during these times—love, humility, abiding in the Spirit, etc.

In Philippians 3, Paul speaks of those who set their mind on earthly things. He says that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, but “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies that it may be conformed to His glorious body…” (Phil. 3:18-21). Our challenge is to live for heavenly things even while we are still on earth.

We belong to a kingdom which cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27-28). In the last days, the Lord will shake not only earth, but heaven also (Heb. 12:27-28). He will shake the 2nd heavens where the demonic principalities and powers have their dominion (Eph 6.) Jesus says that this is the time when men’s hearts will fail because of fear—when the heavens are shaken (Lk. 21:26).

Revelation 12 speaks of the time when Michael will throw Satan out of heaven onto the earth. This is comes as a result of the intercession of the saints prevailing over the principalities and powers in the 2nd heavens, because the saints have found their identity not on earth or in the 2nd heavens, but seated with Christ in heavenly places (in the 3rd heavens) (see Eph. 2:6, 6:12-13; II Cor. 12:2).

At this time, Satan will be cast down to earth and this will be the time of the greatest persecution of the saints and Jews that the world has ever known. However, the saints will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the Word of their testimony (Rev. 12:11).

The Lord is preparing our hearts now to be free of fear so that we will have boldness in the Day of Judgment. Even if bad things happen to us and around us, we will have the courage and boldness to set our mind on heavenly things instead of things on earth. We will have answers when everyone else has questions, anxiety, and fear.

Don’t count yourself out! The immediate response when I say something like that is to say that this cannot be for you. You cannot have that kind of freedom. That is not true. The enemy wants us to believe that because he wants to keep us in bondage to fear so that we will not realize our inheritance as sons and daughters, and take our place seated with Christ—above Satan! When we truly realize that and make conscious choices to walk in that everyday, we become deadly to Satan, because it is the result of our prayers that will ultimately cast him out of heaven and call forth Jesus to return.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is—there is freedom! (II Cor. 3:17). We do not want to be enemies of the cross by thinking that we cannot be free and therefore setting our minds on earthly things (Phil. 3:18). We must be anxious for nothing, but set our minds on whatever is noble, lovely, true, and pure (Phil. 4:6-8).

This week, meditate on the love of God. Meditate either on Jesus love for us by dying on the cross (Jn 15:13) or on the love of the Father (Rom. 8:15, I John 3:1, I Jn. 4:19). Pray the following kinds of prayers out loud. Ask the Lord to reveal His love to you. Ask Him to prepare your heart to receive His love and ask Him to remove fear or anything that stops you from receiving His love. Ask Him to make you able to comprehend what is the width, length, depth, and height, of the love of Christ which passes all knowledge (Eph. 3:17-18). Ask Him to perfect you in love and to make you bold in the Day of Judgment.

Grace and Peace in the Lord Jesus!

Amanda
 
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