Defend Yourselves

I was given the opportunity this weekend to lead an awesome group of ladies in bible study. So while I was very nervous because these women are all my elders I knew God would give me the words to say and the lesson to teach and as ALWAYS He came through for me.

So, the whole week I was studying and searching, listening for God's direction.I want to share it with you all. Lately there have been some major and I do mean MAJOR storms in my life. In the midst of it God has taught me that it is our responsibility to guard our hearts. How do we do that? In what ways can we guard our hearts?? How in the world do we as humans protect ourselves from such a big enemy?? We forget something so important. Greater is He Who is within me!!!

I've compiled a small artillery of things we can do to guard ourselves.

First things first, we must die daily to ourselves.A dead man can't be tempted. A dead man can't be taken as a casualty in the war.(shout out to an old friend for that one) 1 Cor. 15:31 Ez. 37:1-10

Second we must spend time praying and fasting! When Paul teaches about the armor of God he ends with prayer because it is SO ESSENTIAL!!!! What good is a soldier if he doesn't know his orders from The Commander??In the parable of the persistent widow Jesus teaches us to pray continually. We should come to the Father persistently!! To fast is to give something up for time in the presence of The Almighty God.When David was building a new temple he went to buy land from a man and the man offered to just give it to him. David basically told this man that he would not offer God something that did not cost him something. What is The Presence of God worth to you?? Your most effective prayers are the ones that you purposely set aside to have fellowship with God no matter what tv show you miss, no matter what meal you miss, no matter how many hours of sleep you miss!! What is the presence of God worth to you?? How important is that thing you are praying for??? Eph. 6:10-18, Luke 18:1-8

Spend time in The Word. How can you know God if you don't know what He has to say to you? Faith comes by hearing! You have to continually refuel and be renewed! Ever get to like Thursday and feel so drained you don't know if you can make it to next Sunday? Well you probably aren't getting in The Word and feeding yourself! You can't rely on Pastor's word to get you to heaven so why think you can rely on Pastor's word to get you feed for the whole week?? Just sayin'.

Spend time just worshiping and praising God for who He is. God inhabits the praises of His people. If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you! There is nothing like feeling God close to you! The closeness of God can get you through even the worst times! Trust me in this because I am in the midst of it now! Just being real with y'all here. God's Presence is the only place I want to be! and It's the only place you will find yourself protected!!

I want to encourage you to seek after God. don't worry about what you will miss while you are with Him. Nothing else can compare to what can be experienced in His Presence! Worship is a lifestyle. To truly be able to discern what is of god and what is an attack you have to know what is going on in the holy place! You have to know what is of God to know what isn't of God! Seek to see His Face! Seek after Him and you will be surrounded with the hedge of God's protection!

Love and Blessings,
A Follower of Jesus just Like You