Open The Prison Doors!

Reading from the Book of Isaiah 61:1-3

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

One of the things said in this verse is that Jesus has come to open prison doors and set captives free. I believe this refers to the prison of sin, guilt, and condemnation. Jesus died so that our sins can be forgiven and completely removed along with any sense of guilt an condemnation.

Jesus can heal us everywhere we hurt! He wants to help us mentally and emotionally, as well as spiritually and physically. For a long time, I did not know that, and my lack of knowledge caused me to live a dysfunctional life. Abuse and rejection had left me emotionally wounded until I discovered that Jesus wanted to give me, and all of us, a way out of the prison we were in.

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

It is time for you to enjoy God's favor. That means He will bless you even though you do not deserve it, if you place your faith in Him. God wants you to enjoy yourself and your life. He wants to heal you everywhere you hurt! He wants to heal you spiritually, physically, financially, and socially. Do not close off any part of your life to His healing touch.

When we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, a great exchange takes place in the spirit realm. He gives us everything He has and is, and we are supposed to give Him not only everything we are, but even what we are not. He takes our weaknesses and gives us strength. He takes our sickness and gives us health and healing. We give Him our sin, and He gives us righteousness. We cannot live in the past and press into the future at the same time. Let go of what lies behind and start enjoying the new life that Jesus has for you.

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

If we consistently believe God's Word, He will turn circumstances from negative to positive, in His perfect timing. Alot of negatrive things have happened to me, and Satan used them to sour my attitude toward life and people. I was trapped in my past because I did not believe in Jesus Christ. I was released from the past and began making progress toward the good things God had in mind for me. It did not all come to me immediately in manifested form, but believing in God gave me renewed hope that kept me going from day to day. Slowly but surely I began to see changes take place in my life and each change encouraged me to believe God more.

Believing God is the key to receiving from Him. No matter what has happened to you in the past, if you believe, you can receive! God, and God alone, can open the prison doors!

Beginning Of The End

Reading from the Book of Luke 10:18-20

^{Luke 10:18} And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

This was the moment lightning struck the Vatican – hours after Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. The lightning touched the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the holiest Catholic churches, after the Pope’s shock admission he lacks strength to do the job.

We all need to pray around that verse. That verse came to me this morning and, personally, I feel it is a sign from God that Satan is here and the time is upon us.

 ^{Luke 10:19} 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. ²⁰ Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Christians, PRAY that our God Almighty will have mercy on us! 

Mind Your Own Business!

Reading from the Book of 1Thessalonians 4:11

Did you know the Bible specifically tells us to mind our own business?

^{Thessalonians 4:11} And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

Minding our own business is a principle we need to follow, and we will discover that we enjoy life so much more when we apply it. Many times we get into things that were really none of our business to begin with, and those very things end up making us miserable.

God does not give us an annointing to handle someone elses business. He gives us an annointing for our own. This is why things become so messy when we get involved where we should not. There is obviously a time to get involved and help people in need, but there is also a balance that should be honored.

Ask God to help you know when to get involved in a situation and when to "mind your own business!".

Our Tower Of Babel

And so, we have come in our times to a remarkable turning point: the belief that our biological sex, genetic makeup, and moral fabric can be completely re-ordered, re-engineered, and re-placed. We have placed our hope almost solely in science and technology to deliver us into a new epoch of human enlightenment and freedom. Our Tower of Babel we are constructing makes the Babylonian tower of the Old Testament look like a hut.

But what is Babel? It is the description of a kingdom in which people have concentrated so much power they think they no longer need depend on a God who is far away. They believe they are so powerful they can build their own way to heaven in order to open the gates and put themselves in God’s place. But it’s precisely at this moment that something strange and unusual happens. While they are working to build the tower, they suddenly realize they are working against one another. While trying to be like God, they run the risk of not even being human – because they’ve lost an essential element of being human: the ability to agree, to understand one another and to work together… Progress and science have given us the power to dominate the forces of nature, to manipulate the elements, to reproduce living things, almost to the point of manufacturing humans themselves. In this situation, praying to God appears outmoded, pointless, because we can build and create whatever we want. We don’t realize we are reliving the same experience as Babel.

It is the "Great Deception" of not only our times, but perhaps the greatest since the Garden of Eden. It is only possible on a global scale if global crises succeed in seducing mankind into believing that the only solution to our problems is in fact to finally  become the gods that Adam and Eve tried, but failed to be—could not be.

It is almost unbelievable that mankind could let itself be so duped, except that Scripture itself, through both new and old Testament prophets, foretell this very thing.

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth… I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel 7:7-8

Fascinated, the whole world followed after the beast. Revelation 13:3

 
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist.

Wings Over Us

 
^{Psalm 91:3} Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day.

When you and I feel a tide of emotions beginning to swell within us, we need to return to the secret place of the Most High, crying out to Him:

"Father, Help me resist this surge of emotions that threaten to overwhelm me."

If we will do that, the Lord has promised to intervene on our behalf.

^{Revelation 3:10} Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

We need to learn to take refuge under His shadow, where we will be safe and secure, knowing that no power in heaven or on earth can withstand Him. His out-stretched arms are wings over us.

The Revelation Of Sorrows

Revelation 6:1 And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals, I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see...

Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24...~Religious Deception~...Revelation 6:1-2
Matthew 24:6-7................~War~..............................Revelation 6:3-4
Matthew 24:7....................~Famine~........................Revelation 6:4-5
Matthew 24:7....................~Pestilence~....................Revelation 6:7-8

Matthew 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

The Trial Of Waiting

Reading from the Book of Psalm 40:1-3

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. ² He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
³ And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Waiting for God to help us is not easy, but David recieved four benefits from waiting:

1. God lifted him out of his despair,
2. God set his feet on solid ground,
3. God steadied him as he walked, and
4. God put a new song of praise in his mounth.

Often blessings cannot be received unless we go thought the trial of waiting.