Breaking Free Introductory Session

In studying Beth Moore’s Breaking Free, I am finding it is so very helpful to summarize or paraphrase what has been said in her workbook and in her videos and research further to gain better understanding. So, this is what she taught in the introductory session video and my research in my own words.

From the example in Judges 6: 1-6 on Midian’s defeat we can learn a few things; We, the people of God, can live under great oppression. Being a Christ-follower does not make us immune to the influences of Satan. He is the Oppressor and he has two goals for us: to make us unproductive and impoverished. He wants to make it so you aren’t saying or doing anything that benefits the Kingdom of God. He wants to suck you dry and keep you from your true source of nourishment, Jesus Christ. We also can learn from Midian’s defeat that if we don’t seek freedom, we will seek shelter. What does that mean? Freedom is found in our surrender to Jesus Christ. He proclaims it and we have to come and claim it. If we don’t claim freedom in Christ than we will seek shelter; we will curl up in a ball in the corner of our jail cell that has the door open wide and not come out. Whatever is keeping us from claiming our freedom is making us seek shelter and/or comfort and peace through other things like alcohol, drugs, over-eating, burying ourselves in our work, etc. A stronghold has kept us in the jail cell and keeps us in isolation.

www.gotquestions.org tells us what a stronghold is and how to bring it down:

The word strongholds is found once in the New Testament, used metaphorically by Paul in a description of the Christian’s spiritual battle: “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses [strongholds]” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4, NASB).

1)    Our battle is not planned according to the way this world fights; earthly stratagems are not our concern.

2) Our weapons are not physical, for our warfare is spiritual in nature. Rather than guns and tanks, our weapons are those of the “full armor of God” and consist of “the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17).

3) Our power comes from God alone.

4) God’s plan is to demolish spiritual strongholds.

What are these “strongholds” or “fortifications” we face? In the very next verse, Paul interprets the metaphor: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). The “arguments” are the philosophies, reasonings, and schemes of the world. The “pretensions” have to do with anything proud, man-centered, and self-confident. 

Here’s the picture: the Christian, wearing his spiritual armor and bearing his spiritual weapons, sets out to “conquer” the world for Christ, but he soon finds obstacles. The enemy has erected strongly fortified garrisons to resist the Truth and thwart God’s plan of redemption. There is the fortress of human reasoning, reinforced with many subtle arguments and the pretense of logic. There is the castle of passion, with flaming battlements defended by lust, pleasure, and greed. And there is the pinnacle of pride, in which the human heart sits enthroned and revels in thoughts of its own excellence and sufficiency.

The enemy is firmly entrenched; these strongholds have been guarded for thousands of years, presenting a great wall of resistance to the Truth. None of this deters the Christian warrior, however. Using the weapons of God’s choosing, he attacks the strongholds, and by the miraculous power of Christ, the walls are breached, and the bastions of sin and error are battered down. The victorious Christian enters the ruins and leads captive, as it were, every false theory and every human philosophy that had once proudly asserted its independence from God.

2)      If this sounds a lot like Joshua fighting the battle of Jericho, you’re right. What a great illustration of spiritual truth that story is (Joshua 6)!

Sharing the gospel is not the only time we see resistance. We can also face demonic strongholds in our own lives, in our families, and even in our churches. Anyone who has fought an addiction, struggled with pride, or had to “flee youthful lusts” knows that sin, a lack of faith, and a worldly outlook on life are indeed “strongholds.”

The Lord is building His Church, and the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). What we need are Christian soldiers, totally surrendered to the will of the Lord of Hosts, who will use the spiritual weapons He provides. “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).

Midian was a nobody according to Scripture. He was the least likely to be able to bring glory to God but God calls the meek, the low, the nobodies, the least likelies and He gives them the divine power to demolish the strongholds; the pride, lust, selfishness, etc.

The journey through breaking down the strongholds will be hard. You may feel like giving up, you may feel like you can’t take anymore, you may feel like it is killing you but God knows what you need. Ask him for the strength and wisdom to help you through this journey and he will fill you with the abundance of life he so wants to give his beloved child. Reach out from the corner of your prison towards Jesus who is standing outside the opened door of your prison with his hand reaching out to you. Reach, reach….keep reaching…

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 308

In order for us to be fruitful, we have to understand that we have to let go of the worldly and embrace Christ every day. Not just on Sunday or the evening of your bible study but a daily “I am going to work on my relationship with the Lord”. Hmmmmmm Sounds a lot like advice people give to married couples. It takes work. God is doing his part as the Master Gardener but we have to get into our souls and pull some weeds, sow some seeds, work some fertilizer into the soil. Working means taking the focus away from ourselves and putting it on God and serving others. The work Jesus did on Earth and on that cross is our example. How can we let go of the busyness of life and embrace Jesus with all our hearts and minds? Ask yourself daily how can I be of service to (my neighbor, my co-worker, my spouse, my children, my grocery clerk, my boss, the lady behind me in line and so on)? Be in the Word and free yourself from self-thinking and live in the freedom of service that Christ calls us to.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 220

Today as we celebrate the freedom of our country, I will celebrate the freedom given to me by God. I remember the day that the weight of fear and shame was lifted off of me thanks be to God. Driving home from the Women of Faith conference, a sweet lady in the car asked me about how I came to know Christ. I told her about my years of disappointment after disappointment trying to get pregnant with our second child and how I finally opened up to God and acknowledge that I didn’t have control over what was to happen with my life but He did. With my knowledge of my temperament and temperament theory, I can see how that was the time when I started really communicating with God. When it comes to relational and social issues, my temperament is a double-edged sword. I do not initiate friendships and conversation for fear of rejection but I need to have a good amount of this to be fulfilled. During this time of infertility, my two best friends became pregnant and my sister. It was a struggle to maintain my emotions with them so the topic was avoided as much as possible but it pushed me towards God and ultimately led me to accepting Jesus into my heart. My need for socializing was now being met fully by the one who can meet all our needs. Another temperament need I have is the need for lots of control over other people and no control from them over me. Because I was becoming more open to God and starting to learn about Jesus, I finally was able to submit to God and acknowledge that I didn’t have control. But the third need in my temperament regarding love was not being met yet because of my fear of rejection. I have a compulsive need for love and affection but do not initiate it so others don’t know of my need and it doesn’t get met. As I told my story in the car to this dear lady, I heard a voice ask “why are you afraid?” It was at that point I realized that I didn’t need to fear rejection because I have the one and only true God who loves me in ways beyond measure. This love set me free. The weight of shame from the three abortions I had in my younger years was lifted so I went home and told my husband and family of my past sins. I was free from the fear of people rejecting me because of my past sins. I know that I am loved and that compulsive need for love has been fulfilled by the only one who could fulfill it. Do you have a freedom story? I would love to hear how the Lord has set you free. Have a blessed independence day!

Matthew 10:8 Freely you have received, freely give.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 96

The story of Joseph is one of my favorites for many reasons but especially to show that God’s purpose is working through everything, the good, the bad and the ugly. Joseph was thrown in a pit, sold by his brothers as a slave, shipped off to a foreign country and accused of attempted rape and thrown in jail. But he was in a place where he could use the gift God gave him with his dreams that would end up helping the Pharaoh and the whole nation of Egypt and put him in a place to help and forgive his brothers. Joseph had learned throughout his tribulations that no matter what his brothers intended that God intended it for good. This belief is what helped Joseph in forgiving his brothers. The evil in the world is certainly not good but God will use it for his good purpose of bringing more souls to salvation and back in relationship with him. If we have this belief in our hearts of the goodness of God and his purpose than we too will be able to forgive which is the way to gaining freedom and peace. God is good.

Genesis 50:19-20  But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 85

We watched this movie last night with Denzel Washington called the Flight. The movie is about an airline pilot who is an alcoholic, drug user who while being high on alcohol and other stuff calmly executes saving the plane that suddenly goes into a nose dive for an obvious mechanical reason. He crash lands the plane and only 6 of the 102 plus 6 crew members died. The real story is about his pride. In the end, he realizes that he is an alcoholic and deserves whatever punishment he gets. At the end, he is in prison and talking to a bunch of inmates about his story and says when he told the truth he was finally set free. The movie indicates all along that all the events have been controlled by God. God was working on this man to get him to let go of his pride and realize he was not in control but God is. The truth does set you free. I know I felt that same freedom when I finally told my husband and family about the three past abortions I had had. I hadn’t blatantly lied about them but in not saying anything about them it was a lie within myself, a darkness that kept me from real relationship with the Lord. And the light of truth was finally put on that darkness and I was freed from it.  God led me to that truth just as he did for the airline pilot in the movie and does for all of us. God is amazing in all he does. Everything that happens is used by him to lead his people to Him.

1John 1:6-7 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 61

Peace. We see the peace signs, we here the talk of peace vs war on the news but do we know the real meaning of peace. Some definitions I found may help guide me in discovering what peace is: freedom from disturbance, state of security, state of balance and understanding of self and others, calm, contentment in obedience to law, tranquility of mind, harmony, to be quiet, to be silent, to stop.   This last one, to stop, really made me pause. Stop trying to do it on your own, stop trying to be God, stop over-analyzing everything, stop letting the world dictate your actions and on and on… Peace cannot be attained on our own. God is the only source of true peace and it is through our belief in Jesus that we can obtain this peace. CS Lewis said it well, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. If you are searching for peace, I pray you will be lead to the one and only that can give it to you.

John 14: 26-27 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 38

I got newsletter in the mail from a ministry called Voice of the Martyrs. It shared about their ministry of getting people to write letters to Christians that are in prisons around the world. It shared one story of a man who was imprisoned because he was selling bibles in China. He ended up getting bags of letters and cards from Christians around the world that gave him hope and strength. He was filled with joy at receiving such a gift when he was in prison. This gift gave him the hope and strength he needed and he brought several fellow prisoners there for murder to accept Jesus Christ. Finding joy in such circumstances is almost unfathomable to consider but we are never alone in these struggles and that is the joy of it. This man prayed to be freed from prison as he was being tortured hourly and heard the voice of Jesus tell him “my grace is enough”. He wasn’t freed at that point but lived on knowing he was not alone and that Jesus was with him. I think the ultimate joy that we are given is in knowing Jesus Christ.

1Peter 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

Happy 2013!

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 347

Today we find out the course of our country. It is a great blessing to be able to have the freedom to vote. Every vote really does matter and we really can’t say we are truly democratic if only a percentage of us our actually voting. We all have a say. If you haven’t already, take the time to get out and vote. Thank you Lord for our freedoms we have in our country and for knowing it is not something to be taken for granted. God Bless America!  And a quick happy birthday to me!

2 Corinthians 20-22 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 341

Happy Halloween! It is the one day of the year, you can dress-up and be someone else for the day. For those of us who are introverts, this can really be freeing. It gives you the confidence to speak up and be the extrovert you just aren’t normally. Dressing up as someone or something else does give a sense of freedom. As children of God, we have been given guidance in God’s word on how to dress for success and put on the armor of God. We can be a soldier for Christ, a saint, a witness for the gospel and more with the armor of God. Here is a link to a bible study I found on the internet about the armor of God.

http://www.acts17-11.com/armor.html  Praising God for this day set aside for fun and freedom and praising God for giving us the guidance and what we need so we can dress-up for Him everyday.

Ephesians 6:10-17 ...Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 321

I am currently reading four books, one for my ladies group bible study, one for a new study at my church, another for personal growth and finally one just because I am a fan of Max Lucado. I was thinking about this and realized how awesome it is to be able to read. That is a gift! Thank you Lord for the gift of being able to learn to read and having an abundance of reading material provided for us without restriction. There are places in this world where people don’t have the opportunity to learn to read or they are restricted by what they can read. I learned in my bible study group last night of a country where they are only allowed to have one Christian bible in the home and there are consequences if any other Christian reading material is found in the home. One such family was found to have the one bible but also a couple of other Christian books. The government came in and took every bit of furniture they had and to make matters worse they had just had a baby. It is stories like this that remind me of how good we have it here in the United States. Never take our freedom for granted and always remember there are those out there that we have to pray for and stand up for that don’t yet have these freedoms.  Learn more about helping people get bibles at this site.  http://www.bf.org/biblenet.htm

Romans 15:14 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 272

Praising God for the opportunities available to make a change in the course of my working life. I have been researching the possiblity of making a carrer change into the medical field as a  medical assistant. The job prospects are good and are projected to grow by 38% by 2018. The median salary in my town could be a  little better but its more than I make now. It will probably cost me $12,000. for schooling plus more for the incidentals like books and testing fees to become officially certified. But there are more learning and skills that can be added to your belt to make your resume really look good and get you a higher paying position. The job itself is a mix of working with people on your feet and administrative stuff at a desk which I think would be a good fit for my body. Helping people is a plus as its one of the small side benefits of my current job but as a medical assistant I would be helping a lot more people and in a healthy way not just in a financial businessy way like I do with alarm companies now. I am starting to meet with colleges to get some idea about the programs offered so not sure at this point what will happen but I am thankful to God that I even have this kind of freedom to change what I am doing as work for my life. I keep praying for guidance and for God to put me where he wants me to be. Hopefully your job gives you a good feeling of success, confidence, joy without any negative side affects like pain, frustration, anger, resentment, discouragement. If so, be proactive in praying and seeking out a change led by God and in the meantime keep your focus on Him.

Ephesians 6:6 Work hard, but not just to please your masters when they are watching. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 185

Today as you know is Memorial Day. It is a day designated for us to remember our fallen soldiers and the sacrifice they gave for our country. They fought wars for our country that gave us the freedoms we have and have helped preserve our freedom and spread it to others. But there is a spiritual war that we have been in since the first man and woman in the garden of Eden. Satan would like to keep all of us in the pit of hell with him but God came down to Earth in Jesus and made it so we could have a choice. Because Jesus took on our sins, we are now reconciled to the Father; we can be with the holy presence of God. Many soldiers for Christ have sacrificed themselves for Christ, for us; to let us know that the choice to make is with the one who has already won. Let's reflect on the Christian martyrs who have paved the way for us and helped spread the gospel to the ends of the Earth. Learn more about Christian martyrs at http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/christian_martyrs.htm 
Acts 7:55-58 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, an Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  "Look, " he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."  At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of th ecity and began to stone him.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 130

Have you ever had a wonderful Aha moment during a sermon where you see something you didn't see before? That happened to me yesterday at the Church of All Nations when Pastor Mark was talking about the events of Holy week and said how Jesus was declared by Pontius Pilate innocent and because it was custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, he gave the decision to the crowd to release Jesus, the sinless or Barabbas, the murderer. Well, we know what happens, the crowd chooses to set Barabbas free and condemn Jesus to death. Jesus was our sacrificial lamb. He died on the cross and because of that we are set free from our sins. The aha moment came when I realized that Barabas was the first to be set free because of Jesus' death. I was in awe of how well placed all of what happened went. God uses everything for good. Setting this murderer free is a concrete example of how we are set free from our sins because of our belief and acceptance of Jesus. Thank you Lord for that nice tidbit you shared with my open heart yesterday!
Matthew 27:26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 102

I attended a church service at Sunrise Methodist Church last evening. I went to pick up a couple of books on scrapbooking bible studies and decided to stay for the service. The sermon was about the ten commandments. The first question was could you name them all? I think I could have done that although they may not have been in the order they are written in the bible. The pastor discussed how you can go by the letter of the law or as you read it like 'do not kill'. Got it don't kill anyone or as the very funny video they showed us said 'don't pull the trigger'. The pastor pointed out that there is also the intent of the law which is not the act of doing it but the thoughts and feelings of doing it. Ultimately, we are all sinners. I have realized I am sinning much more than I would have thought. I think when you put a magnifying glass over your life and look at each thing you do you will find that you are sinning more than you want to realize. So, I am intensely grateful for the gift of Jesus. He has freed us from the bondage of these sins. Although, I am free and saved that doesn't mean I shouldn't put the magnifying glass over my life and become more aware of the sins I am doing so that I can ask the Holy Spirit specifically for help in whatever area I need it. Take a look at the ten commandments over the next couple of weeks as we prepare for Easter and become aware of all your sins. It will make Easter morning be that much more glorious.
Exodus 20:1-3 And God spoke all these words: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me."

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 55

I woke up today and just wasn't sure about what I wanted to praise. Nothing was coming to my mind. There are SO many things to be thankful to God for. I generally go with whatever comes to my mind first and I keep thinking about the polotical stuff going on that I see on the news. It's enough to make anyone want to go live somewhere else. The problem with that is America is the best place to live. I think it can be very easy to forget all the benefits of the freedoms we have. And yes, we are free to crumble about our country's politics and be frustrated. So, I am praising God today for that freedom, for reminding me that we live in a country that has been blessed to have these freedoms that we often forget and take advantage of. So today I will wear red, white and blue and try to remember that altough the negative political campaigns will continue for months to come, we have the freedom to turn off the TV and not listen, crumble if we want to, be frustrated and when it's time go out and vote.
Romans 8: 20-21 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into glorious freedom of the children of God.

Attitude of Abundance

I have been reading a book called 10 Godly Keys to Success and Prosperity and got super inspired to do a scrapbook page for each chapter so I would more fully take in the knowledge and be able to start applying it to my life. The second chapter is about developing a prosperity consciousness. In other words, it's having an attitude of abundance. Meredith Bromfield, the author, makes great points in the fact that we live in a country of abundance. Most of us have been blessed with countless blessings and there are probably tons and tons that you don't even think of because we take them for granted living her in the good old USA like indoor plumbing, a hot shower, freedom of religion, our homes and more. We have an abundance of blessings to be thankful for and the more we keep this in our focus the better our attitude will be. Bromfield also points out the abundance of opportunities available to us. This is the country where dreams are made. You can write a book, invent something, create beautiful artwork and so much more. We just have to be open to seeing the opportunities available to us and grab onto them with both hands.

I wanted to create not only a scrapbook page on this but something to remind myself everyday so I used some products from my Close to My Heart business and created this pin to wear everyday. It was intended not only for my reminder of my attitude but as a visual curosity point on myself that people would ask about. I planned it to just be my reminder but I am making it a part of me. It is my way of branding myself in the business world. Every time someone meets and sees me I will be wearing a pin with a letter. I will create a new one every month that reminds me about the things that I am striving to be consistently. So when people ask me about my 'A'pin, I tell them, this is a pin I created with some of my Close to My Heart products to remind me that I have an Awesome God who has given me and abundance of blessings, provides me with an abundance of opportunities and I have to keep my eyes open and my Attitude that Anything is possible with God.