Not For Sale: demoralizing the builders

Here is the church.

Here is the steeple.

Open the doors.

See all the people.

 Today, a spirit of confusion is rampant in our country, our schools, and our families. I believe that the American church is experiencing systematic demoralization and attack. The children of God are being demoralized by Satan himself. 

de·mor·al·ize

   [dih-mawr-uh-lahyz, -mor-]  Show IPA

verb (used with object), -ized, -iz·ing.

1.

to deprive (a person or persons) of spirit, courage,discipline, etc.; destroy the morale of: The continuous barragedemoralized the infantry.

2.

to throw (a person) into disorder or confusion; bewilder: Wewere so demoralized by that one wrong turn that we were lost forhours.

3.

to corrupt or undermine the morals of.

Here is the church.

Here is the steeple.

Open the doors.

See, the demoralized people.

Today, my heart is broken for the confusion that our society has fallen prey to. We must choose to be the Daniel's of our time-unwilling to compromise in the face of political correctness or oppression. Time pivots and the hand of God is soon to swoop down and deliver His children from this Earth. 

Here is the church.

Here is the steeple.

Open the doors.

Soon, there will be no more people.

When Nehemiah set out to rebuild Jerusalem's walls, it says that his enemies continuously tried to demoralize the builders. They simply attempted to stop the work. They tried extortion, accusation, physical threats, confusion, and yet the wall continued to be built.

A few weeks ago, I talked about our minds being our very own Achilles Heel. 

As Christians, battles are won and lost in our minds. 

We must understand that our feelings can be manipulated by people, culture, television, and even the devil himself. 

My mind is not for sale. 

Is anyone with me?

We do not have to accept every thought that floats through our minds as our own. As a matter of fact, the Bible specifically says "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" in 2 Corinthians 10:5. Do you know what that means for you and I? It means that no matter how bad the battle rages in your mind, you can choose your thoughts. 

Joyce Meyer says "right feelings follow right actions." I believe this with my whole heart. 

If your thought-life is unstable, powerless, depressing, or fearful, then you must consider that your condition could be the result of an arrow, a poisonous spear of deception, launched strategically at your mind! 

When you begin to understand that Christ can redeem every negative thought, feeling, or demoralized moment in your life--then you will begin to experience the peace that is only found in Christ Jesus. 

Do you know that one of Satan's greatest tactical weapons is a spirit of confusion.  It is a process of demoralizing a person to the point that they can no longer rationalize correctly. When we are God's children, yet we are not living in victory over sin, it is a good indication that we are being demoralized (or thrown into confusion) by the Enemy. Remember, he cannot tell the truth, for the truth is not in him. Are you being accused tonight? Are you being lied to about your life, your health, your marriage, your identity? 

{Lord, Jesus, I come to you tonight on behalf of my brothers and sisters in Christ and I command in Jesus name that a spirit of confusion be removed from our households. Your word says in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that You are "not the author of confusion, but of peace." Lord, we know that we do not war against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and principalities of this present darkness. Reveal to us where we have been deceived by a spirit of confusion. If we have given up ground in our minds to Satan willingly or foolishly, forgive us and set us free. In Jesus name, show us how to let the peace of Christ dwell in our hearts and minds.}

500 containers of $1.80 guacamole

Tonight I had a choice. 

We all get choices.

Sometimes, we are wise.

Sometimes, we are like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. We make foolish decisions and we build our lives on sand. And the waves & wind come and beat upon our house, and as if in slow motion our world washes away with the tide.

After 12 hours of Christmas shopping, I sat down alone in Chipotle to eat my dinner. I got my bowl just the way I liked it. I got out a pen and paper and started writing and re-writing all the presents I had bought. I also felt guilty. Even though I had tried to be wise, somehow I had gone way overboard with my spending. 

Then, a man sat at the end of my long stainless table. 

He had a bag of chips and one, small $1.80 container of guacamole. I wondered if I was looking into the eyes of a homeless man. He was dirty and unshaven. His clothes looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a long time. He ate two bites and started towards the door. Immediately, I watched the girl across from me spring out of her seat. She ran towards him and called out. They talked in hushed words at the door and she brought him back into the line. 

She bought him a meal.

I looked at my list and looked at my half-eaten bowl and realized that my whole day was folly. With what I had spent that day, I could have bought that man 500 containers of $1.80 guacamole and chips. 

Another woman handed the stranger a wad of cash.

I packed my list up and shoved everything into my purse. I got some money out and approached the man too. 

We all get choices.

I handed the weathered old gentlemen some cash and told him Merry Christmas. He was polite and grateful. 

He told me thank you. 

I should have been the one thanking him. 

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2

 

Feelings

"Right feelings always follow right actions." Joyce Meyer

I think she says it best. 

The Junk Drawer

Yesterday, I hated my junk drawer. 

We have a love/hate relationship.

Me and my junk drawer.

I love my junk drawer on days when I can hide things in it. Doesn't everyone have one? Maybe it's not ever a drawer. Maybe it's a closet or a room in your house. It's the place where all those things that don't ever seem to find a permanent home end up. Our junk drawer is filled to the brim. It started out looking so nice. It had some appliance manuals and school supplies in it. 

Then, one day a bag of foam letters exploded in it or shall I say a triplet dumped the whole bag out.

Sigh.

From then on it was all downhill; the manuals got crumpled, the pencils spilled all over the place, and erasers got thrown around like confetti. Then, somehow, Hello Kitty ductape came to the rescue and helped every resident of the junk drawer stick together.

Sigh.

I normally love that junk drawer. I can hide things in it. I can slide manuals and stuff into it. But, yesterday...

Yesterday, I hated the junk drawer.

Yesterday I needed something from it.

Yesterday, I needed the Foam letter Y.

Turns out, there was only one Foam Y in the entire junk drawer and our school project only lacked a foam Y. 

Do you know how much I hated that junk drawer yesterday. The only thing I hated more than the junk drawer was all the junk I had to pull out of it to find one, little, foam Y. 

Y me?

We got the project finished. 

We found one Y.

Then, it dawned on me, how our minds can be just like that junk drawer. We love the fact that people can't see what we think. But, God sees. He sees straight through our brains and right into our hearts. He hears every thought and knows the intent of the heart. We also hate our junk drawers when we can't control them. See, when we let junk live and take up residence in our minds; it only stays nice and neat for a season. 

Junk will be junk.

The junk in your mind goes straight to your heart and eventually spills out of your mouth. We might be able to conceal it for a little while, but it always catches up to us. 

Think about your mind today.

 Is it nice and neat? 

A place of peace where Christ comfortably dwells? 

Or is it filled up with junk? Fear? Envy? Hate? Insecurity?

Let's pray about it together. 

The Battle for Your Mind

Sometimes things don't line up like I expect. 

I get disappointed.

I get frustrated.

Take loyalty for example:

I am extremely loyal when it comes to my family, my friends, and my business relationships. 

Loyalty is a good thing.

But, a loyal heart scorned can get really ugly.

Soon, one of my best traits can send me spiraling into a really ugly inner-dialogue when someone doesn't return the loyalty.

I digress.

Suddenly, I'm bitter because I felt someone didn't treat me like I thought they should.

Then, the good trait becomes my Achilles Heel.

It kills peace. It kills productivity. It kills the present and threatens the future. 

Internal Combustion.

We smile and tell the world "We are doing great!" 

We put up our best pictures on Facebook and share how wonderful our lives are via Twitter. 

But, inside we are a mess, and worst off– we can hide it for a season.

I don't know about you, but Satan's not getting my mind.

It's a decision you and I have to make as our feet hit the floor every morning. 

It's something I fail at greatly, but strive for daily.

There is no easy button, but there is a solution:

Saturation.

It's a process of renewing our minds  continually with the word of God.

{If you turn to my discipline, then I will pour out my Spirit on you and teach you my words.}

Proverbs 1:23

We have a choice each day to have the mind of Christ–to put on the helmet of Salvation, or to let Satan rule our thinking. 

{The battle for your mind is one of the bloodiest battles you will ever face as a Christian.}

Today, I want you to see the tactical spiritual warfare for what it is:

If Satan can't have your soul, he's lost you eternally. However, if he can have your mind, he has your focus, your joy, your productivity– so he ultimately has you. 

{As a Christian, your mind is your Achilles Heel.}

He'll take any inch you give him; he'll twist, confuse, contort, lie, and destroy you from the inside out. Our help comes from the Lord and He is anxious to deliver us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually today. 

Phillipians 4:8 

{Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.}