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Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? Mark 8:18
 Praying for eyes to see For the last several weeks I have been praying for eyes to see and ears to hear. This post is specifically my prayer for the spiritual eyes to see, I have the natural eyes working every day.
While I was waiting for my answer I was imagining God was going to open up the spiritual realm like He did for Elisha’s servant and I would see the Host of Heaven all around me…Nope. Our maybe I would see into Heaven… Nothing.
What I got was a simple thought that I would like to share with you.
I am a reader, and when I am reading, let’s say a fictional book, my house could be on fire and I would not know it. Why am I unaware of my surroundings? It is because I am not in my house, I am in the book. I am the hero of the story or I am right there watching everything unfold.
Have you ever wondered why the book is so much better than the movie? It is because of your imagination or what I believe Jesus was referring to as your spiritual eyes to see. (Mark 8:18) Jesus was scolding His disciples for having a hardened heart and not being able to perceive the miracles of the feeding the five thousand.
Today, we have the same problem, we have hardened our hearts. I think it is worse today then with the disciples, because we have something the disciples didn’t have, the written word of God.
We can look into God’s word and see the miracles, imagine the dusty roads, see the faces as God heals all sickness and disease. (Matthew 9:35) We can actually see Jesus when He tells His disciples, all these works and greater works will you do (John 14:12) if we will open our spiritual eyes and see.
Like the book is better than the movie, I believe the Bible is better than actually being there with Jesus. Remember He is with you right where you are, God said, He would never leave you or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6,8)
Pray that God will open your spiritual eyes, He has opened mine and He is not a respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34,35) He will open yours if you ask Him.
God is good all the time, better than you can ever imagine. Close your natural eyes and think about all the good God has done in your life. See Him as the perfect, kind, loving Father. He wants to do so much more, talk to God today.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
 New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Champions Again, since our company is here in Louisiana I think this is relevant. Besides God is clear when He says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3)
I have placed God first in my life, this allows me to have other interests that do not consume me. I did enjoy the game tonight with friends and family. I am confident Jesus was happy to see me enjoy myself. I believe more of the body of Christ should try it.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth. Psalm 115:1
Have you ever asked a question of God and waited for an answer? That is where I have been for almost 7 years. The funny thing about this “Christian Clothing Company thing”, is I have had absolutely no attraction to clothes.
That does not mean I am against people being dressed. No, put me down as saying most people I see need to have on more clothes, not less. The point I am trying to make is, I never cared about what I was wearing. (Much to the dismay of my wife) There are many things I care about, things I am passionate about, clothes wasn’t one of them…until now.
 Christian Clothing Line Clothes were created by God to hide our nakedness. Satan has taken clothes and like everything else God created, he has distorted their purpose. Instead of a covering, they are now a fashion statement.
“Clothes make the man”, I am sure you have heard that before. Do you think that saying can be found anywhere in the Bible? Let me save you some time…it is not in there. Satan is a liar, thief, murderer, a master deceiver and he has “owned” the clothing industry.
I want to go on the record as saying I own the most powerful clothing line in the world. In fact, when God finishes teaching me all He wants me to learn and releases me, Nike, Under Armour, Ralph Lauren, etc. be forewarned, we will totally dominate the clothing industry. How can I say that you may ask? I say it because I believe taking back the clothing industry is something God wants to do. Is anyone in this industry giving God the glory? Some may give a token mention to God, but our company is being built upon the word of God, Jesus.
The reason we have “struggled” in the past is not because of God, it is because of me. I am no longer going to stand in the way of God. No, I am praying to be released into this arena to do battle for the souls of men.
This company will give God glory (it already does) in everything we do and accomplish. It will display the love of Christ and here is the best part, it will help the church bring in the harvest of the lost sheep wandering around without a Savior. What other clothing line has that as its primary mission? (Can you see why we are confident, God is going to bless us?)
So here it is February 1, 2010, and we have not yet dominated in any area of the apparel industry, but we will, in Jesus name. We are excited about what God is doing in our company and we believe you will be too.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14
The first step in becoming a mighty warrior for Jesus is to understand the battle for the souls of men can be fought either in the physical realm or the spiritual realm.
Here is a quick lesson, Satan wants to fight you in the physical realm, with your 5 senses: Taste, Sight, Touch, Smelling and Hearing. If you fight Satan here you will lose. When I say lose, I don’t mean most of the time, I want you to hear me, you will lose every time.
Jesus’ victory completely destroyed the works of the Devil but it was a spiritual victory. We must remember whenever Jesus fought Satan or his demons He did so in the Spirit. Using His authority and the word of God.
Step one in your training is to imitate Jesus, and by that, I mean, fight Satan only in the spiritual realm. How is this done you might ask? Your weapons are not carnal (physical) but spiritual. This post is not going to get into detail about the spiritual weapons but I want to give you the best thing I have found for starting each day.
 Whole Armor of God The Whole Armor of God-(Ephesians 6:10-18) I try to put them on everyday. I do this by faith through a prayer something like this:
I gird my loins with the belt of truth, I shod my feet with the Gospel of peace, I put on the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, I taken in my hand the shield of faith, which will block every fiery arrow Satan shots at me and in the other hand, I grab the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. I do this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
This simple exercise helps you in two ways; First, it will help you concentrate on the spiritual, first thing in the morning. Second, it will properly dress you for the battle each day.
Remember God is no respecter of persons, if it works for me, it will work for you. I pray you will take your first step to become the warrior Jesus needs you to be.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
In the next few weeks I am going to write about something the church is lacking. Mighty men, David had them, the early church had them, why don’t we have them?
We will discuss this in detail, in fact, I have started an ebook that will be available to everyone that asks for it. (Don’t ask yet)
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. Matthew 23:11
 Throwing in the towel In a boxing match when the trainer grabs the towel, the fighter is in bad shape and he is about to throw it in the ring to stop the fight. When the Body of Christ grabs the towel it means we are about to take it to the “next level”. Jesus taught a valuable lesson to His disciples right before He went to the Cross. (John 13: 3-5)
The greatest among the body of Christ is the servant. This life is not all about doing, but it is more about submitting to the Holy Spirit and His purpose. Let me go on the record as saying, this is not the line most believers, including myself usually stand in. I find myself asking God to use me, He shows me a need, I (through my human reasoning) determine it is “a little below” me and I go the other way. This seems like an easy lesson to learn but it goes against every thing I have learned about life.
God’s ways are not our ways, neither are God’s thoughts like our thoughts. My challenge to you and me this year, humble yourself, grab a towel every chance you get. Think about what Jesus was wiping off their feet. If you have ever worn open toe sandals you know how nasty your feet can smell and look. Now add to that image dusty streets, live animals (which produce piles of processed food) there is no telling what else made it between their toes.
Remember also how humbling it must have been to have their Master insist on washing that off. You know they had to be thinking, “Jesus, if I knew you were going to be doing this I would not have walked where I walked.” Isn’t that how most people live their lives? When someone comes to “serve” them they either don’t let them help, or are embarrassed about the mess they are in.
 Jesus loves you towel I see no where in the Bible where Jesus talks about the mess He washed off. The only thing we need to know is, He did it. When God calls you to “wash the feet” He is not calling you to remember or remind them, He is calling you to wash them. When you see someone walking through a mess and the Holy Spirit calls you to “clean their feet”, do it as Jesus did. Humble yourself before them and wash the world off of them.
The other important lesson here is, these were followers of Christ, your brothers and sisters in the Lord. Here is my nickels’ worth of free advice, don’t grab your towel and start washing feet. Wait on God to show you someone in Christ that has gotten a little too much of the world on them. They are mostly clean, but not all, grab your towel and get to washing. Wash off the discouragement, the failure, the loneliness, the emptiness etc. Anything you find, wash with the towel.
You may be thinking, “How can I wash that off their feet?” I am not talking about a natural foot washing, I am talking about a spiritual foot washing. Here are some different “towels” you might use: love, hope, faith, joy, encouragement, humor, word of God, etc. Pray that Jesus would lead you and show you which towel to grab, but grab a towel and get to work.
God has shown me people in my life to encourage. So that is the towel I am grabbing right now. I am going to be an encouragement to the body, specifically, the brothers in Christ God knows that need encouraging. Again, I want to remind you, God is not a respecter of persons, so if He shows me someone, He will show you someone. I want to “encourage” you. grab a towel and wait on the Lord. He will show you someone in your life that needs a good foot washing.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14
One of the great things about salvation is we are totally forgiven. What ever we do or have ever done is completely and totally paid for. (That my friends is Good News!) This is what we or at least what I do as a believer, I continually remind myself when and where I messed up. Paul taught us in Philippians how to deal with the past, forget about it…good, bad, whatever you have done in the past is just that…the past. Concentrate instead on the present, Carpe Diem.
What a simple statement to say but in practice, I find it a lot harder to walk out. This is how I overcome my past, I remember all that Jesus Christ did for me in His life. He conquered Satan himself and told me, His victory, is my victory. I believe, the best way to honor Jesus is to accept that He did it all for me (or you) and I remind myself I don’t get any extra points reliving all of the mistakes in my life. So I don’t, when a stupid thought from the past comes in, I simply thank Jesus for taking care of that for me, and I move on. Who the Son has set free, is free indeed, believing that is freedom!
 Haiti Earthquake Again, what happened in Haiti, happened because someone in Haiti or maybe even the whole country, invited Satan there as an honored guest, this invitation was delivered through Voodoo or maybe simply through unbelief in God. Remember Satan has to have an invitation, (1 Peter 5:8) and being the murderous thug he is, he took their invitation, waited until the time was right and the rest is now history. Regardless of what you believe, it is now time to forget what is behind and press on to those things which are ahead.
The body of Christ is there on the ground helping to comfort, protect and rebuild. It will not happen without effort and prayer. You need to be helping or praying or both. Haiti needs help, they do not need our righteous judgement or condemnation. They need to see, feel, taste, smell and hear the love of Jesus. They are receiving all of that right now, pray they will embrace Jesus, bind up Satan and cast him out of their country. (James 4:7) If they can, God will show us what heaven on Earth looks like, because I believe, if you have seen the pictures coming out of Haiti now, we know what Hell on Earth looks like.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? Romans 6:16
So, if God did not judge Haiti. how could this have happened? Again, Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and that is exactly what happened and is continuing to happen there.
Satan has left his calling card, he is the guilty party, period! How do we deal with this? First things first, you pray for the people in Haiti. Second, go help with the rescue work if you can. And finally, if you can not help, give to help those organizations on the ground that are there now. Here are a couple of great choices:
 Franklin Graham Samaritan’s Purse- lead by Franklin Graham or the American Red Cross, I know there are many other places/charities to give, but my point is, if you can not go, help those that can.
Satan has been defeated by Jesus, but he has not been vanquished to the Lake of Fire. That presents a problem for us here, we must continue to do battle with Satan. The $20,000 question most ask is, how? I thought you would never ask. (This is not a complete list but a great start)
How to defeat Satan
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Submit yourself to God (1st), resist the devil (2nd), then he will flee. ( James 4:7)
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Blood of the Lamb, word of your testimony and a sacrificial life. ( Revelation 12:11)
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Your words have power, faith filled words speak life or death. Speak death to the lies of the enemy. ( Proverbs 18:21)
 Haitian Voodoo So what does this have to do with Haiti? Satan can only destroy where he has been invited in. Satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) He can not devour at will, he has to have an invitation. Enter Voodoo, do you think it is a coincidence that Voodoo has such a strong hold in Haiti? This is nothing more than a door for Satan to walk through.
Pray for the people of Haiti, but pray that the Truth will come and set the people free.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
 New Orleans Saints I just wanted to give a shout out to the New Orleans Saints. They played a great game tonight shutting down a very powerful Arizona Cardinals team.
Because we are located in Louisiana, we can’t help but say, “Who Dat thinkin they can beat them Saints?” Hope Coach Sean Payton and his team, gets to play Feburary 7th in Miami.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32
 Map of Haiti Did God cause the earthquake in Haiti? No! Is this a judgement from God against Haiti? No! Okay, you may be saying, how can you be so sure? I am sure, because I know the truth from God’s word. It is crystal clear to me, any killing, stealing or destroying, comes directly from our enemy, Satan. Full abundant life, comes from Jesus. Why is that so hard for most people? The answer is found in
Mark 6:52,53 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.
The disciples were living their life, in this story they were totally in the will of God. Jesus told them to get in the boat and go to the other side. But while they journeyed to the other side, a storm came up and they were in trouble. Jesus walked out on the water and came into the boat. In the middle of their storm, Jesus walked on the very thing that was trying to kill them. Being fisherman, they knew they were in trouble because of the storm but they did not understand the power of God (about the loaves), because their heart was hardened.
We have become like the disciples, our hearts are hardened, we do not consider the works and word of God. Most of us spend much more time on TV, radio, the Internet, than in the word of God. The net result is a hardened heart toward God. (I tried to sugar coat it some but this is all that came to me)
We have allowed Satan to attach God’s name to his work (Haiti, Katrina, etc) because we do not understand who our God really is and what He stands for. God sent Jesus to live a perfect life, because He needed a perfect sacrifice to fulfill the Law. There was no answer for sin until Jesus arrived. Satan is rarely mentioned in the Old Testament because man could not defeat Satan. Adam had given his dominion over to Satan. (Read Genesis 2-3) Satan was now the ruler of this world, but God had a plan.
That plan was to send His Son to live, die and then be raised from the dead. This is the Good News; Jesus took all the punishment, judgement, death, sickness, sorrow, (name anything bad) and Jesus bore it on the Cross. God judged Jesus to give us back dominion, but there is a catch. (I knew it, there is always a catch.) You have to accept the grace of God by faith to be covered. What exactly does that mean? Here’s the Gospel:
You take your screwed up life, full of mistakes, poor decisions, disappointments, sin and you ask God to take that in exchange for Jesus’ perfect, sinless life, death on the cross and resurrection. How can this happen? It is the gift of God, delivered by grace through faith. You take God’s grace (what God has already done) through faith (your positive response to the word of God) and you are saved.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
Romans 10:9,10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost, not to destroy those who reject Him. In Luke (9:51-56) His disciples wanted to destroy those who rejected Jesus, But He turned and rebuked them and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
Jesus came to save, Satan comes only to steal kill, and destroy. This is just the beginning of this teaching but I want to set the record straight, God is not angry, upset, ready to judge or destroy you or Haiti. He has already placed all of His anger and wrath on Jesus. Jesus took it all to the cross, then the grave, and came out with the victory over Satan.
Satan on the other hand goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The word is clear, Satan is the enemy of God, he hates you, me, everyone in Haiti, Europe, Asia…you get the picture.
Until next time, remember: You overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony, and by becoming a living sacrifice. Revelation 12:11
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