Browsing Tag

Enemy

Still Small Voice

Safe with God

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xtend your hand and feel my heart. It beats for you, my dear. I gave my most treasured jewel for you – for you to be with me. I want you near because I created you to be loved by me. Don’t run away, run toward me. Don’t shy away, don’t let shame blame you. You have been forgiven. My love washes away your past. I only see your future, bright and beautiful. Come and open your eyes with me. Let me show you how I see you. Let me tell you all the wonderful plans I have for you, for us. I will guide your way. You’ll never wonder where I am. I will never leave your side. You can trust my presence. You will be encircled by me. The adversary will have no direct access to you. Be filled with my Holy Spirit and walk with me, and I will be your strong tower, that no enemy can penetrate. You’re safe with me.

For here is the way God loved the world—he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life. —John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭TPT‬

O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.—Psalms‬ ‭25‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.—Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

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xtiende tu mano y siente mi corazón. Late por ti, querida. Te di mi joya más preciada para que estuvieras conmigo. Te quiero cerca porque te creé para que seas amada por mí. No huyas, corre hacia mí. No te asustes, no dejes que la vergüenza te culpe. Has sido perdonada. Mi amor borra tu pasado. Sólo veo tu futuro, brillante y hermoso. Ven y abre tus ojos conmigo. Déjame mostrarte cómo te veo. Déjame contarte todos los maravillosos planes que tengo para ti, para nosotros. Yo guiaré tu camino. Nunca te preguntarás dónde estoy. Nunca me iré de tu lado. Puedes confiar en mi presencia. Estarás rodeado por mí. El adversario no tendrá acceso directo a ti. Llénate de mi Espíritu Santo y camina conmigo, y yo seré tu torre fuerte, que ningún enemigo podrá penetrar. Estás a salva conmigo.

Porque así es como Dios amó al mundo: dio a su único Hijo como regalo. Así que ahora todo el que cree en él no perecerá jamás, sino que experimentará vida eterna. —Juan 3:16 TPT

Oh Dios mío, en ti confío; No me dejes avergonzarme; No dejes que mis enemigos triunfen sobre mí. De hecho, nadie que espera en ti sea avergonzado; Sean avergonzados los que obran con deslealtad sin causa.—Salmos 25:2-3 NVI

El nombre del Señor es torre fuerte; Los justos corren hacia ella y están a salvo.—Proverbios 18:10 NVI

Bible Study

Lessons from a Dodo

The dodo bird is extinct. So, what can I say about a flightless, homely-looking bird that isn’t around anymore? It couldn’t soar like the eagle due to its stubby, powerless wings and it couldn’t even strut around proud as a peacock covered with gray down instead of feathers. Yet its legacy lives on 300 years later in our modern-day vernacular, “You dodo bird!” 

The dodo was first discovered living in the palm and tropical fruit-tree dense forests of the island of Mauritius off the coast of Africa in 1598 by Dutch and Portuguese explorers. They named it dodoor, which means ‘sluggard’ in Dutch and doudou, which means ‘simpleton’ in Portuguese.  

The dodo bird frolicked on the island with no need to migrate to far-off lands. It had sufficient fair to eat and no apparent enemies on the island. Over time this ancestor of the pigeon lost its ability to fly because it had no reason to. However, when the ravenous, seafaring sailors came to the island they hunted the birds. They also brought carnivorous dogs, cats, and pigs with them, and most likely stowaway rats. This sudden new threat endangered the species and eventually contributed to its disappearance. 

The dodo was caught off guard. Being isolated and conditioned to live carefree didn’t prepare it for the danger that would devour its paradisiacal and inexperienced existence. It lacked the biological response animals have to acute stress coined, fight or flight. The dodo didn’t fight to protect itself or escape capture. It didn’t disappear physically or even disappear in place by playing dead or camouflaging itself with a change of colors, like the chameleon. Its adrenaline-charged self-defense reflex didn’t budge, which would have heightened its speed, force, sight, hearing, thinking, or flying. Even if it had tried to fly away, it wouldn’t have succeeded. Because it hadn’t branched out to discover other realities. It clipped its own wings. 

Many of us can’t interpret the danger signs against our very lives. We’re not privy to the enemy’s tactics bent on our destruction. We ignore the world, the flesh, and the devil as real threats, like the dodo bird living on an island, indulging itself and unaware of an existing enemy.  

The apostle Peter teaches us to “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) 

What does it mean to be sober-minded or of a sober spirit? 

When we think about being sober the first thing that pops into our minds is abstaining from intoxicating or addictive substances such as alcohol and drugs.  

Allowing our minds to be influenced, manipulated, or controlled by the spiritual forces of darkness is just as harmful as introducing foreign or dangerous substances into our physical bodies. The problem is that these influences usually masquerade themselves under the guise of widely accepted cultural practices, ideologies, religions, fads, and entertainment.  

Many professing Christians have become desensitized to these deceptions, easily accepting worldly standards instead of God’s plumbline of truth. It takes wisdom from the Holy Spirit to know the difference between worldly and Christian values.

Believers succumb to the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of the eyes; tempted by the physical world and its desires, looking to notable celebrities and the latest guru instead of seeking the kingdom of God for spiritual instruction. If we look, sound, and act like unbelievers that’s a sure marker that we’re off course spiritually.

We have a critical choice to make. We can sway on a hammock, holding a piña colada in one hand and our cell phone in the other and be a prime target for the enemy, like the dodo bird of years past, or we can prepare ourselves to fight the good fight and escape the snare of the enemy.  

Recently, I had a conversation with a pastor, and he reminded me that it takes daily discipline to pray, study the word of God, and introduce Godly-inspired habits that will help us manage the flesh and its lusts because temptations are always willing to come knocking, especially when our defenses are down. 

To be sober-minded or free from intoxicating influences such as lies, pleasures, and worldly riches, we must know the truth found in God’s word which will help us stay alert and prayerful. The most important thing that should be in our hands is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; it is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God.  

We must know the word of God, believe the word of God, and wield the word of God!