When my husband left me with four children for another woman, I was devastated. The betrayal was almost too much to bear.  On my back porch one night when the children were asleep, I cried out to God in my anger, in my heartache, in my pain, in my despair, and I asked Him, “How could he do this to me? To us?”

In between sobs, I heard a still small voice say, “Forgive him.”

When I objected, the Lord whispered softly, “Forgive him if you wish to be forgiven for your sins against me.”

I argued, “But, Lord, I’ve never cheated on You. You don’t know how this feels.”

Immediately, I heard in my spirit, “Oh really? Every time you chose to watch tv when I’ve beckoned you to come spend time with me, you cheated. Every time you chose to run to a friend with your problem instead of first coming to me, you cheated. Every time you desired and sought after love and validation in other places, you cheated. You love your husband, but I am Love.  My very being is LOVE!  Therefore, I know the feeling of pain and betrayal from your adultery even more than you do from his.”

Next thing you know, I was on my knees weeping and repenting for my adultery against my heavenly Husband (2 Cor 11:2), the One who is Love (1 John 4:8), the One who took my place on that cross even though He knew I would break His heart thousands of times. Needless to say, when I truly recognized my own sin of adultery against the Lover of my soul (Song of Solomon 6:3), it made it a little easier to choose to forgive my ex-husband.

Did you notice that I said “choose”? Choosing to do so is the first step in being able to completely forgive. Jesus is so good to us in that He works it in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Not only did He die for us, but His death made a way for the Helper (the Holy Spirit) to walk with us and help us to walk in righteousness (John 16:7). But first we must CHOOSE to walk in it. 

Who do you need to forgive? Ask God to reveal or bring to remembrance any sin that you may have committed against Him or against others. When He shows you, confess your trespass, choose to forgive your trespasser (Matthew 6:12), then ask for the Helper’s help to completely forgive. Please know that if you expect forgiveness from your Father, then you must also be willing to forgive those who have sinned against you.

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Photo by Christian Fregnan on Unsplash

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7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”

“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

After 16 months of raiding the Philistine villages, I’m sure David and his men were excited and eager to get home to their wives and children. However, when they got there, they found the entire camp destroyed by fire along with everything in it. Plus all of the women and children had been carried off into captivity. This was definitely not the homecoming they had hoped for.

Oh, the despair and hopelessness they all must’ve felt! How long had their wives and children been gone? What if they’ve been raped and beaten? Are they still alive? As if all these tormenting thoughts and more weren’t bad enough, now David’s equally devastated men were talking of stoning him.

Put yourself in David’s shoes. What would your natural instinct be?

I don’t know about you, but if I were the fierce warrior that David was, my natural instinct would be to prepare for battle and take off after them as quickly as possible. There’s no time to lose! Let’s go!!

In fact, I’ve done as much with far less detrimental and pressing issues in my life. For instance, in the past when my teenagers didn’t answer phone calls or reply to texts, I would imagined the worst. Then, as the anxiety grew, I would eventually take matters into my own hands, with even more phone calls and texts. What if their car was sideswiped? Worse yet, what if the reason their car was sideswiped was because they were trying to answer my phone call or text? After multiple attempts, I became that mom who called their work or their friends to hunt them down to make sure they were still alive. Needless to say, my kids learned quickly to respond with at least a simple text to let me know they were ok.

Sadly, I could’ve saved myself (and my children, lol) a lot of grief had I taken the time to inquire of the Lord. In fact, there were many times in the midst of those crazy imaginations and panic attacks that I could hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit trying to comfort me. Inevitably though, another louder more obnoxious voice would overthrow that voice with all the “what ifs”.

But not David! He paused and took time to inquire of the Lord before taking action. Mind you, he didn’t inquire with the intent that God’s will and favor would automatically be the same as his desire. He did so in humility as he called for the priest and the ephod (which represents a garment of praise and worship)…with a decisive heart of sincere surrender. He positioned himself to hear from the Lord.

Positioning oneself to hear from the Lord takes time! Especially when the pressure is on. It takes time to quiet your anxious mind. It takes time to let go of your worst fears. It takes time to set aside the desire to do things your way. It takes time to let go of control and to completely trust God. It takes time to praise and worship a Good Father rather than blame Him (as I’ve admittedly done before) when everything seems hopeless. Time is what we usually think we don’t have in these types of situations.

David took the time to inquire of God. I sincerely believe this is one of the many reasons David was beloved of God. I don’t know about you, but I need to practice more of this when difficult moments happen in life. Shoot! I need to practice this daily.

What do you need to inquire God about? Take the time.

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Most Christians know that their highest calling, other than loving God, is to love one another (Matthew 22:36-40). The problem is that many have learned to pretend to love; perhaps even deceived themselves into thinking this pretense is genuine.

Usually people can feel the sincere love that represents Christ versus the phony love that serves self. Displaying the phony kind of love might make a person feel like a good Christian on the inside. It might even be able to fool some people looking from the outside. The thing is, God always examines the heart (Jeremiah 17:10). Even if people can’t sense the phoniness, God can!

To sincerely love, we must humble ourselves enough to ask the Holy Spirit to convict us and to show us how to love. We must examine the motives of our hearts and the thoughts in our minds. We must be honest enough to admit areas where we lack genuine love, and receptive enough to allow the Holy Spirit to put that love in us.

There are more than a few areas that I need God’s sincere love to be poured into me in order to flow freely out of me. I’ve found that the times my love is most genuine for others are times when I’m able to completely receive His unconditional (and undeserved) love for me.

Do you sincerely love God? Do you sincerely love others? Is there an area that you’re lacking? Is there someone with whom you struggle to love? Do you put on a fake smile but inwardly despise someone? Etc…

Jesus, help us love You sincerely. Help us to love others the way that You have loved us!

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“Brethren” refers to fellow believers, other Christians, the children of God.  Satan hates those who belong to God for many reasons and he constantly accuses them.  He goes before the throne room and accuses them to God.  He whispers accusations in our ears against one another.  And he has absolutely no problem accusing us by bombarding our minds with condemning reminders of our own sins and imperfections.  Sometimes they are true.  Sometimes they are false.  Regardless of whether they are true or false accusations, we must be careful not to come into agreement with the evil one. 

The more we listen to these accusations, the louder they become.  The next thing you know, we start questioning the other person’s salvation altogether.  We need to remember that we are all human and going through the sanctification process.  In other words, we all still have issues/kinks that are consistently being worked out.  We need to remember that Jesus paid a high price for ALL of us, which means we are ALL worth something to Him.

If you hear these accusatory obnoxious whispers against fellow believers (especially if it’s personal and they’ve wronged you somehow), pray for them.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how Jesus sees that person. Allow Him to show you how you may have done the exact same thing to someone else.  Allow Him to remind you how that person may have blessed you in the past, or a good quality/gift that the person possesses, etc. Get quiet before the ‘Lover of your soul’ (scripture) and let Him wash over you all the love that He has for that person (again, even yourself).   Choose to come into agreement with who God says the other person is and with who you are.

Who have you been listening to and agreeing with; God or Satan?  Who has been the target of Satan’s accusations in your ear? A family member? An acquaintance? A competitor? A friend who wronged you? A boss? A coworker? Yourself? 

Repent for listening.  Lift them up in prayer right now!!

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Awhile back, I read an article about some North Korean Christians who went through great lengths and dangerous struggles just to put the Bible into fellow believers’ hands. I truly felt convicted, even as someone who reads and studies God’s Word regularly. Oh how we take for granted the religious freedoms we currently have in our country!

It is sad that even though we Americans have such easy access to Bibles, we’re not very passionate about reading them. We’re definitely not willing to undergo any kind of suffering in order to do so!! In fact, many can’t even sacrifice 10 minutes of TV or social media to open up the Living Word of God. The sad truth of the matter is that many Christians rarely open their Bibles outside of church (and even less do that now that most churches post scriptures on the overhead projector).

This is a big reason most believers really don’t know the God that they claim to follow. They don’t know why they believe what they believe, so they inevitably conjure up and worship false images of God.

Jesus, who is the Word, went to great lengths (even death) to give us a relationship with Father God! Shouldn’t we do likewise with Him so that His death isn’t in vain in our lives?

Having a good relationship with someone cannot be one-sided with the occasional Sunday meeting. It can’t be cultivated with church programs or the many areas you may serve in.  A good relationship must be developed through regular and daily conversation.  

Christ’s death and resurrection bridged the gap that once separated us from our Heavenly Father.  We now have direct access to communicate with Him through prayer and reading His Word.

Today, I urge you to wipe the dust from your Bibles, open them up and read them. Perhaps you can add this to your New Year’s resolution by being determined to set aside time to do this every day.

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¹⁵ “If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”

¹⁶ The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁷ But Joshua said to the tribes of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment ¹⁸ but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

Sometimes we expect others to do for us what we are perfectly capable of doing for ourselves. We become upset with government, church leadership, work hierarchies, friends, family, etc. for not assisting us in promises/visions that the Lord has given us. Furthermore, we expect those entities to conquer and claim that promise for us; or at least help us.

As you read the scripture above, consider promises God has birthed in your heart that haven’t yet been fulfilled. Do you feel cheated? Did you get the short end of the stick? Does it seem like you didn’t get the same opportunities that others received? The Lord may very well be saying to you the same thing Joshua said to Ephraim and Manasseh,

“You’re more than equipped to claim and take ownership of your promise; now do it!”

“Don’t be a victim. Be the VICTOR that I’ve created you to be!”

“Realize how numerous and powerful you are!”

“Go up into the forest and clear the land for yourself and take ownership.”

“When you do, you will not only have one allotment, but the forested hill country as well; meaning there’s even more spoil than you can imagine as you focus on claiming that which is rightfully yours and yours alone.”

“You’ve got this!!”

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Some might think it crazy to talk to yourself, but there are studies that actually show it’s good for mental and spiritual health. King David understood this long before anyone ever thought to research it.

What is David doing in the verses above? He’s talking to himself. In fact, he’s taking it a step further, and commanding his soul to bless the Lord and to remember His benefits. He then continues throughout the rest of the chapter (Psalm 103) doing just that; speaking forth, remembering and thanking God for His goodness. We should do likewise.

The soul consists of mind, will and emotions. It is the mind, will and emotions that are under constant attack; therefore, it makes perfect sense to aggressively secure those three entities with the authority that only you have. The way to do that is to forcefully talk to yourself. Crazy, I know, but super effective.

Many times when I command my mind, will and emotions to bless the Lord, it is while I’m at church. For a plethora of reasons, it is sometimes difficult to focus on the goodness of God.

• Perhaps somebody cut me off on the way to church.
• Or maybe I got into an argument with one of my family members.
• Sometimes it’s due to worrying about things I have to do after church or that I didn’t get done before.
• Hormones might also play against my emotions causing me to feel sad, rejected or angry.
• Dare I say that there have likely even been times where I was simply willfully unwilling to offer up any praise for various reasons (for example, maybe God didn’t answer a prayer the way I thought He should’ve or maybe he blessed someone I didn’t think deserved it, etc).
• It might even be that I’m going through the motions, singing the songs, but my mind is scattered or distracted with the service itself.

Whatever the reason, whenever I recognize that I’m not completely worshiping Him in spirit and in truth (the soul must be subject to the spirit) (John 4:24), it is then that I place my hands on my belly (representing my most inner being) as an even more forceful declaration to command ALL of myself to bless Him.

Besides the scripture above, a few others that I speak regularly to myself are as follows (author’s emphasis below for the purpose of speaking directly to my soul; please note that I urge you to always look up scripture yourself and/or hover over the scriptural reference posted to see the complete scripture in context)…

Be still and know that I am God … (Psalm 46:10) Saying this in the morning before prayer and devotion often quiets my mind right away. Try saying your name out loud before commanding yourself to be still.

I take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5) For a more forceful declaration, place each of your hands on either side of your head.

Why so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5) After commanding yourself, look at your surroundings and begin to thank Him for what you see. Remember that every good thing comes from your Father above (James 1:17).

This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24) I used to say this one many many many times while looking in the mirror with tears flowing from my eyes and feelings of deep deep sadness and depression. Please note that these are times of real sacrifice. It is easy to praise God when everything is great in your life; but believing and declaring the Word when your very soul aches and screams out in disagreement is a true act of faith. But know this…the greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward.

So if you ever see me talking to myself, please don’t think me crazy; I’m simply exercising a little mental and spiritual health. Though I wrote the confessions above in first person, I’m sure if you honestly examine yourself, second person also applies. Therefore, I hereby give you permission to talk to yourself.

What scriptures should you command your mind, will and emotions to come under submission to? Hint…ask the Holy Spirit to search you and know you (Psalm 139:23); and He will reveal areas that need to be spoken to, as well as the corresponding scriptural reference.

In the comments section below, let us know of any scripture(s) that you regularly speak to yourself (I say “us” because besides myself, readers may relate to and be helped by your ‘soul-command’ testimonies).

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For some reason, this scripture really stuck out to me for the first time the other day.  I’m not sure that I ever really considered the idea that the crowd was planning on making Jesus king by force.  What exactly does that look like?  If someone doesn’t want to be king, how can he forcefully be made king? 

Pondering these questions caused me to also wonder why Jesus felt he had to leave them altogether.  Couldn’t he have simply said, “No thank you.” 

Then it dawned on me… perhaps this was yet another temptation.  Scripture tells us that Jesus was tempted in EVERY way that we are (Hebrews 4:15). This could be one of those ways. Thankfully, Jesus showed us once again how to resist such temptations.

When flattering opportunity (or any opportunity for that matter) presents itself to you, and the crowd loves you as they offer up accolades in unison, consider the possibility that it doesn’t necessarily mean this opportunity is God’s will for you.  Walk away from the crowd and/or the tempting loud noise that forcefully floods our thoughts shouting,

“Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!” 

“Surely this must be from the Lord.” 

“Those people are in awe of you, and in agreement about your role.” 

“After all, isn’t this part of God’s calling for your life?” 

“Perhaps this is how God will fulfill His plan and purpose for you.” 

Sometimes these thoughts can be so loud that we convince ourselves they are of the Lord.  And they very well could be from the Lord, but please be aware that puffed up flesh can be very difficult to subdue.  In fact, the more puffed up, the more difficult.

Be wise and follow Jesus’s wonderful example… Go somewhere secluded and PRAY.  Quiet the noise and opinions of others.  Quiet the noise of your own desires. Be still. Bring every thought captive as you go before the Father to seek His will and direction.  Surrender your mind, will and emotions to Father God.  Listen for Holy Spirit’s direction and guidance.

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Just as many college students are taking finals this week, many of us are going through spiritual tests. These tests often feel even more stressful and difficult. How so? For one, there are no specific ‘study plans’ pinpointing exactly what to study. That, and we often aren’t even aware we’re in a test until it has already begun.

The purpose of any test is to analyze current status, position or ranking, in order to determine the next step or direction. These tests not only provide useful information to the tester, but they are also extremely beneficial to the one being tested. In the case of spiritual tests, they often remind us of our true nature and character (something we don’t really like to be reminded of), and humbles us. This is a good place to be because wisdom is gained in humility (Proverbs 11:2).

The good news is that spiritual tests also show us how much we’ve grown in Christ. They remind us to keep our eyes on and stay connected to the One who passed all tests; our Teacher and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

So… as you go through this testing cycle, take note of your failings (be careful not to focus on them in condemnation). Let the test do its intended work in you and for you. Again, the ultimate goal of ALL tests is to take you to the next level. Don’t forget that with each new level, you will also face and encounter a new devil.

The cool thing about these types of tests that the Lord takes us through is we never fail (though it may seem like it at times). There are no final exams! Jesus allows retakes. Just continue to keep your eyes fixed on Him, and go through the process. Look back and thank Him for the sections you passed. Trust Him to help you in the areas you still struggle in, as He completes His perfect plan in your life. Raise your hand (or both) and ask questions. Remember that your wise Teacher (Rabbi) also happens to love you very much and will never give you more than you can bear; nor will He test you beyond your last level. Praise God!

What tests might you be going through in this season? Comment below. If you need a study partner, request prayer here.

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David was appalled that all these muscular, trained, mighty soldiers were allowing Goliath to blaspheme their God with hateful slander. The young teen was the ONLY ONE willing to challenge and fight this obnoxious arrogant giant.

With good intentions, King Saul convinced him to put on heavy armor before confronting Goliath. The same armor that those scared unwilling soldiers were wearing. The same armor that one would normally wear into battle. However, David wasn’t normal! He was set apart!! David quickly realized that while this protective gear was good for most, it was not good for him.

In the end, he decided to shed Saul’s armor and defeat the famous Philistine the way God had trained him; with no armor at all, 3 stones and a sling. Though unconventional and regardless of what others thought or how they mocked him, David stood before Goliath and defeated him the only way he knew how.

How many of you have allowed someone else to convince you HOW to do something that they, themselves, are unwilling to do? It’s time to remove the heavy armor that the “Sauls” in your life have convinced you to put on. Seek God! Follow after the way He has already trained you; the way that you know. This is the only way for you to be successful in defeating your giant(s)!

Tell me about conventional (normal) armor that others have tried to place on you, that you’ve allowed others to put on you, or that you’ve placed on yourself.

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