Tag Archives: deliverance

Dec6

Washed Clean. Made New.

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💭I had this thought going through my spirit today.
🫠Sometimes, when we’re serving in our purpose, it gets messy.
🤔When it gets messy, sometimes we understand that as we missed God.
🧐But what if, getting messy was part of your process?
🫤What if the mess was to help you realize how deeply you need God?

🍽️Consider a dinner plate.
🧆It’s purpose is to serve us for our meals.
🧼But man, everytime it serves its purpose, it’s messy and needs to be washed clean.

🚮Can you imagine the waste if we threw them away every time they got messy doing what they were made to do?

🫧Instead we wash them in preparation for them to serve again.
🎉It’s like they become brand new once more.

🤷‍♀️I wonder if we took the mess to the Lord and asked Him to wash us, make us new, and prepare us to serve in our purpose again- each time it got messy- How could we encounter Him and allow our mess be turned into a message?

✝️The mess won’t be the message- but how He tenderly met us, washed us, and made us new- that becomes the message we carry.

📣One of His faithfulness! One of His kindness! One of His marvelous love!

❤️‍🔥Today, let’s ask Him to reframe any mess we interpreted at a missed mark- and help us to bring Him that mess and make us new.

🙏🏻Lord Jesus, there is nothing too dirty, too messy, that Your love can’t wash white and make new! I invite You to reveal anything I’ve misunderstood and tried to throw away that really just needs Your healing touch. I invite you into my mess and ask You to give me a new message of Your faithfulness to bring to the world! I love You Jesus! It’s by Your blood, spirit, and power, in Your holy name I pray! Amen.

📖Revelation 21:5

“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”

📖Lamentations 3:22-23

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

📖Romans 6:4

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Aug14

Secure/Rescue

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A while ago I was reading something and on the page was the word ‘secure,’ but my eyes saw the word RESCUE- however it didn’t fit within the context of the sentence, so I re-read it and comprehended that I saw a different word than was actually printed on the page. I asked the Lord if that was Him- and indeed, He had a message for me- that I now have been working through and working out and living- and just now- a moment ago- He nudged me to share this with you.

Rescue- Secure- The same letters make up these two words with very different meanings, and yet, strongly linked!

As I sought the Lord, He began to show me how when I feel insecure- I run to what I think will rescue me- and inversely- when I perceive the need to be rescued- I run to what makes me “feel” secure. As I have been asking Him to highlight this to me- some of these cycles are constructive and pleasing to Him, and some are not.

One day I was feeling really low about some truly hard bumps I was hitting and I found the urge to run to something I normally would turn to to make me “feel” secure- and the Lord highlighted this destructive cycle to me, and I had the thought, ” I could deny my flesh right now and run to Jesus and start to break this cycle.” Unfortunately that day- I chose to continue in my quest to satisfy my desperate need for security- a quick fix, if you will.

Shortly after, as I was spending time in His presence, He showed me this. He also began to show me the negative effects these cycles have had on my life and how far reaching the outcomes are when we choose anything other than Him for our security. How when we buy into false comfort or security in one area of our life- it slowly seeps in undetected to all the other facets of who we are. With this wisdom before me, I repented and asked Him to help me break the cycles that keep me temporarily satisfied and quickly depleted- when I could be filled to overflowing with no lack. I asked Him to come alongside of me and help me in becoming a woman who would settle for nothing less than His best for me- and to be willing to wait upon, yearn for, and rest in Him alone.

Am I still struggling? Sure. Am I making progress? You betchya! Me and Jesus are celebrating this new season of breaking through yuck that I have just been accepting for a long time.

So, I am sharing this with you and I wonder what are you settling for? Is there anything in your life you are leaning on for security that is really sinking sand? Is there anything you expect to rescue you which could leave you stranded? He alone is our source and if we place our trust and faith in anything apart from Him- we will be disappointed. But God- our Almighty God- is faithful and we can trust with Him as our foundation we are firmly placed.

Hebrews 6:13-20The Message (MSG)

God Gave His Word
13-18 When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, “I promise that I’ll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!” Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they’ll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can’t break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

18-20 We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek.

Sep25

Do we protect our wounds?

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I was chatting with a friend the other day about how many people I run into who want to “face their giants” or start “unpacking their baggage” and yet even though commitment is made, when the time draws near, they run as fast as they can in the other direction.

I personally have been working through stuff since my early 20’s. When we are kids, and stuff happens, we draw conclusions about each memory and how it defines us. The problem is when you are a child, you have a child’s mind. Often times, the conclusions we have drawn and attached to our identity are incorrect, and yet we walk into adulthood with a skewed perspective and a wounded heart and spirit.

Then, most unfortunately, we continue to live out of this wounded perspective and wound others with our words, selfishness, and actions that are all in the name of protecting our wounds.

Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. He came to set the captives free and heal the wounded. But most of us declare with our actions that we don’t want what He offers. We declare, even though I am wounded, I know how to be this way. I am afraid of the healing process because it would be unfamiliar to be free.

My friend described it like this to me: A woman broke her hand off, but was so afraid of what the surgery might do to her, that she just covered it up, and started doing everything with her other hand. And although it completely limited her ability and caused her much pain, she knew what it felt like to have a wounded hand, and she knew how to operate around it, and she just assumed this was how her life turned out.

SO MANY OF US ARE WALKING AROUND WITH COVERED UP WOUNDS. We have learned how to operate around that wound and have just accepted that this is the way it is going to be! PLEASE STOP! You DO NOT have to have a limited experience of life. There is hope for healing.

Speaking from personal experience, when I was in my early 20’s a close friend asked me, “You have a lot of baggage, and the question is, are you going to unload it now and enjoy life at a higher capacity, or are you going to carry it around with you and let it hold you back and drag you down for the rest of your life?” When it was phrased like that, I knew the choice was obvious, “Let’s face this stuff!”

My experience of healing is perpetual. Hard life stuff flies at us ALL of the time. We are constantly needing to process painful things with the perspective of love. I CANNOT PROCESS with the perspective of love when I am deeply wounded. Like it or not, my main job becomes protecting my wound at any cost. I hurt others when I am wounded.

So, I am writing this today in an attempt to love you. When I am set free, I am free to love, honor, and value others right where they are at in their process. Healing is a process, it is constant, and it is worth it. Every step of the healing process produces eternal fruit that will become a blessing to everyone you encounter. It is so much bigger than you, and you so desperately need to let go of the identity of your woundedness, and say yes to the journey of becoming whole. The Lord will not leave you, you do not need to be afraid, it may not be as hard or arduous as you are imagining.

A great place to begin is just asking the Lord, “What wound in my heart am I afraid to face?” Ask Him if it is time to get some help, maybe a counselor, coach, or close friend who walks tightly with Jesus. Ask Him to help you, to give you courage, to give you strength.

Please choose today to stop adjusting to being wounded, and to start facing the hurt places and receive healing and freedom.

God is FOR YOU! He is WITH YOU! NOTHING is too hard for HIM! and YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Lord Jesus, we need you now more than ever before. Come, draw near, and illuminate our hurting places that we have attached  identity to. Lord, help us to catch a glimpse of what it can be like to live in wholeness, to allow you to heal our brokenness. Lord, I ask that you supernaturally give us courage to take one small step towards healing today. When we want to run away, teach us how to turn back to you and stay the course which you are calling us to. We admit that we need you, and we are terrified of what we may find, and yet I hear you whisper that we do not need to be afraid because what you have for us is better than anything we can imagine. Lord, I choose you, not any other identity, today! I love you Jesus, and it is in your name we pray! Amen!

May9

The Lion is not afraid

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This is a season of acceleration in learning. Learning comes mostly by experience. He is teaching me so much in this awesome hands on course we call life.

A few months ago, I was chatting with my mentor, and she brought a word to me from the Lord. She began teaching me the difference of intervention(which is what happens once it all falls apart), and interception (which is stopping it before it gets to far.) She taught me how the Holy Spirit, who is alive in me, wants to intercept the plans of my enemy for which the purpose is to destroy and/or  distract me from walking in the fullness of who God created me to be and fulfilling my Kingdom assignment on the Earth.

She went further to help me understand how I need to tune my spiritual ears in and ask Him about everything. By asking Him to help me intentionally listen more carefully, He is revealing truth ahead of time,and by choosing to obey even though I didn’t understand fully, He has kept from a few disasters. The sole purpose of my enemy is to kill me, BUT I have Christ in me….and He came to give me ABUNDANT life. This means as I listen, I am learning( learning-just learning-I don’t always get it right-but in process) to say no to bad things, and good things, and yes only to God things.

What do I mean by God things? I mean when I ask Him, “Is this what you have for me right now?” If He gives a green light, I continue to walk forward, Yellow I wait, Red I stop. There are so many good opportunities to do good, but God has specific opportunities for each of us always, which align us with the right people, put us in the right direction, and fulfill our purpose.

The next thing ( and I believe these are linked), is all about identity. I am learning how important it is to know who God says we are because when an attack on your identity comes, and you know what is true, you will not be defeated, destroyed, or devastated. When I am agreeing with lies, then the enemy can find agreement in me and tackle me all of a sudden.But when I ask Jesus consistently, Who do you say that I am? Who am I in you? And I allow Him to build me up in my core, my foundation is stronger when the storm comes. I will be found standing on my Rock, who CANNOT BE SHAKEN!

And finally the Lord  revealed Himself to me on Sunday as the most majestic, most powerful, most fierce Lion I have ever seen. He laid in front of me and said, “I AM the highest. No one preys on Me. And I have you. You are in Me. You have nothing to be afraid of. I have you covered in protection.”

The very next night, this Monday, I find myself in an emergency room watching my husband crash. His blood pressure and oxygen levels were dangerously low. The nurse had a crash cart placed right outside of his room just in case. For a split second, the attack came. I saw Brendon and I with no Troy, my eyes filled up with tears, and devastation was about to take a seat in my spirit.

BUT……

Because of being aware of interception- I heard the Holy Spirit say- THAT IS NOT TRUE! Think on only what is true-look Troy is alive right in front of you.

The Lord just the day before promised me as I was in Him, He has me covered in protection. Because I was fully confident in the truth of that aspect of my identity, the LIE of death and fear of the unknown could NOT find agreement in my spirit and was KICKED OUT before destruction,devastation, and defeat could get comfortable ruling my emotions.

Instead, I was able to stay calm and peaceful. I was able to pray and be strong for my husband in his moment of need. All of the fruits of the Holy Spirit were abounding in the midst of chaos. IT WAS AMAZING! And the only reason I’m sharing this is because as this is becoming my new normal response to the surprises of life, I am left AMAZED because I know it is only by the grace of God that I have authority to step into being an OVERCOMER. It is only because of the love of God, and the very real presence of the Holy Spirit living in me, that I have been blessed to have dominion over my emotions and allow the Truth to lead me instead of how I feel. This is not shared so you can think I’m some amazing, spiritual person. I simply want you to know this is available to all of us. I want to share the goodness of God, so you can be spared from unnecessary attacks and defeat in your lives. I’m sharing this so we all can step into our Christ given authority and identity as OVERCOMERS so our children and their children would know how to stand up and believe in who God says they are!

This is revolutionizing my life- will you join me? for your sake and for all of those who will come after you?

 

Feb28

Vulnerable….always

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Interesting what you realize as your own strength, power, control are taken from you. For the last few weeks, I have been suffering terribly with fear. Fear is something I have overcome in the past, but all of a sudden I am plagued again. Here is the most interesting part…as the Lord has begun to speak to me about my future, and my hope has risen to really believe what He has will be, the fear has risen simultaneously.

For the last five years or so, I would declare how I totally trust in the Lord’s protection. I would have shared how I completely believe He has sent His angels to have charge over me and I am safe. It also would have been true that I am a pretty strong girl who can move quickly and deliberately when she has to. However, now that I am in a healing process, I have felt completely vulnerable. I have been ridden with fear, because if someone was coming after me, I am not as strong or as fast as I may need to be.

The reason this has caught me off guard is because until now, I had no clue that really in my heart there was a good portion of my belief that was in my own strength, my own power. Although I believed I was totally relying on God, I was also super comfortable with the idea of what I brought to the table. So when what I have to offer to my belief system has changed, I’m surprised by the outcome, and I’m thankful for this revelation.

This is also happening to me in another area of life. There is this one piece of my puzzle that I constantly am tempted to want to relax into trusting what the world can offer me, rather than look completely to God. EVERY TIME I begin down that road, starting to exhale in relief thinking that is being taken care of, that circumstance which I want to rely on is snatched from me. EVERY TIME it is jolting, frustrating, and also humbling. I feel like the Lord is saying, ” Daughter I love you too much to give you something, anything, that will make you feel comfortable, safe, provided for, or taken care of apart from me. I want you to totally and completely rely on me.” I must confess to you, friends, that this doesn’t always feel like love, sometimes it just feels hard. But I know that what I feel mostly isn’t what is true. The truth is, He does love me, and He is love, so His motive over me is ALWAYS love!

This is good. It is good for the hidden shallowness of my faith to be laid out plainly before me. It is good to know how vulnerable I am and always have been, and it always has been Him keeping me. It is good to realize how much faith I have put in things that are easily shaken, taken, or broken. For the path I am on, I will only be able to count on one thing, on One, on God. He is love. He has got me covered. He has it all worked out. This must be resolved now before I journey any deeper into my destiny.

When I asked Him to speak to me these were the scriptures He gave me. First one declaring His bigness, to put things in proper perspective for me:

Psalm 65:2-8 We all arrive at your doorstep sooner
or later, loaded with guilt,
Our sins too much for us—
but you get rid of them once and for all.
Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest
at home in your place!
We expect our fill of good things
in your house, your heavenly manse.
All your salvation wonders
are on display in your trophy room.
Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer,
Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser,
Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash,
of mobs in noisy riot—
Far and wide they’ll come to a stop,
they’ll stare in awe, in wonder.
Dawn and dusk take turns
calling, “Come and worship.”

Now that I know how vulnerable I am, and yet I am loved, provided for, and protected by the Ocean-Pourer and the one who muzzles the sea storm, He says also:

Proverbs 27:1Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;
you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.

What an awesome reminder: STOP BEING BLINDED BY WHAT YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN and trust Me who KNOWS what is coming. Trust Me who is never caught off guard or suprised. Trust Me who is always FOR you and is working EVERYTHING together for your good. Nothing is too hard for Me!

Before I close with the song that I woke up meditating on tonight (which led to this posting), fIrst let me just ask you, what are you trusting in? What would you be devastated by losing? Your health? A job? A relationship? If you are feeling prompted, ask Him to show you if you are trusting in anything other than Him…..it is the time to know that HE really does provide our protection, our needs, our love. He gave it all FOR us, and He is still giving it all TO us! TRUST HIM! (and not for some outcome you have in mind, but for peace, joy, and love no matter what the circumstance)

“Always”

My foes are many, they rise against me
But I will hold my ground
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way
Troubles surround me, chaos abounding
My soul will rest in You
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way

Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always

I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
From You Lord, from You Lord

Jan21

get rid of the root…..

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So yard work isn’t really my thing, but it has to be done, so….there I am weeding a planter and I keep ripping the weed, not getting to the root. Trying hard not get frustrated, I just asked the Lord, “do you have any wisdom to share on weeding effectively?” He simply said, “Grab as low as you can and wiggle a little and it will loosen the root and come right out.” Knowing I did not previously know this, I knew it was Him, I did it and instantly the roots were loosening and the whole thing came out. That got me thinking about how I could have trusted in my own understanding and done all of that weeding and in a week it would have all grown right back. But by asking Him for wisdom, He showed me with just a little extra effort and time,getting a little messier,  the roots would slide out, permanently removing that weed …..this is true for a lot in life. Ask Him for a strategy and be willing to put in the extra effort, allow it to get messy,  and the root system of that thing you have been trying to get rid of in your life for so long, but it kept coming right back, is going to be gone for good. Maybe it’s time to plant some flowers, to replace weeds with something beautiful! You are something Beautiful!

 

Sep21

Overcoming even in the Wilderness

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Can you take a minute to read Luke 4 before going on?
Something that stood out to me today as I read in chapter four was that satan waited until Jesus was really really hungry, probably almost desperate to eat, probably feeling very weak before he started to tempt Him.
It said that Jesus had been in The wilderness for 40 days and had not eaten a thing before satan started to tempt him.
I have personally had this type of experience with the tempter, aka accuser. I have had many times where I was beaten down, at the end of my rope, overwhelmed with fear of the unknown, and just plain desperate and that is when I would get kicked the hardest. I have had many “wilderness” experiences where I felt all alone, and even sometimes separated from God. Satan loves to kick us while we are down. He loves to tempt us when we are desperately fighting, and he especially loves to tempt us with what we are desperate for.
I strongly believe we were given this example because Jesus showed us how to handle every type of temptation we would be faced with. He showed us there is NOTHING satan can throw at us that cannot be defeated by the TRUTH in the Word of God. He showed us that in order to deny satan from defeating us, we will constantly have to deny our flesh, meaning our physical needs, our pride, our need to prove God to others, any desire we have that does not line up with the plans of The Lord on our lives. He showed us that the only strategy needed to live in victory is to be in relationship with the Word, JESUS! It’s serious. He came to give us a perfect example of living a human life completely dependent on The Lord and this was His only and very specific strategy for overcoming every temptation. What an awesome example.
So how can you really apply what Jesus was teaching us? Here is something I try to do. I pray this scripture: Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
When I deliberately ask for this, He does reveal any offensive way in me. Often times, it would be something I would never otherwise have paid attention too. But mostly, if they would be left in the darkness to grow, it would take root and be much more painful to rip up and out. So although it is painful to see it at all, I’m grateful when it is revealed to me at just the beginning.
So next I have to make a choice to agree with God and line my heart up with His will. I have free will, so this is my responsibility. I have to choose to say, “Yes Lord, I recognize that is not from You, what are we going to do about it?” Often times, I don’t want to say that, but because I know Him, and I know He is FOR ME, I trust that He is saving me from future pain by revealing it to me. Then as I search the scriptures, He gives me truth to defeat the lie attached to the offensive way. So now that The Lord has made me aware of this thing, I’m hyper sensitive to it. I can now recognize the ploy and I have the specific strategy from The Lord, the specific scripture(s) to defeat the enemy. Together with The Lord’s help, with Jesus alive in me, I can overcome! Praise The Lord!
Lord Jesus, thank you for providing everything. Thank you for being the Truth! Teach me in your ways. Deepen my desire for holiness and continue to make me aware of every offensive thing in me. Cleanse me, purify me, make me more like you! Oh Lord, that is the deepest desire of my heart! I love you and it in in your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen!