Bible Study

Set Your Minds On What Is Above, Not On What Is On The Earth

The title of this post comes from Colossians 3:2

Colossians 3

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So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.

2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.

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3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God.

4 When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

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5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

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6 Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient,

7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.

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8 But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices

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10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

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12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

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13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.

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14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity.

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15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful.

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16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.

17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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18 Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they won’t become discouraged.

22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.

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23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men,

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24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

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25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.

“Blessed Assurance – Bill & Gloria Gaither”

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44 thoughts on “Set Your Minds On What Is Above, Not On What Is On The Earth”

  1. Arkansas here i come…..Mandolin playing…..Hmmm where was i 🙂 Great words there Jc from the bible. But you got me confused for a moment using the same background, i scrolled and scrolled and wait a moment new blog subject. Getting old here in Finland!

    I looked on pictures from Arkansas and am i right in assuming its quite a rural state, mostly farmers and such?

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    1. Stig, I just updated the main blog post picture. Looks like I had used the one from prior post 🙂

      You’re right Stig, about the place in Arkansas being rural.
      Here’s a funny representation for you:

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  3. Daily Bible Verse and Prayer by “Jolie”

    [I thought that the prayer that Jolie wrote had tremendous insight into possible symbolism to be gleaned from the Samson and Delilah account. Also, it fits with the title of JC’s Post—- Peggy]

    “Then Delilah lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. And she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ So he awoke from his sleep, and said, ‘I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!’ But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him” (Judges 16:19-20).

    Heavenly Father, we can learn so much from the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson is a picture of the Church (the body of Christ), as well as individual believers. And Delilah is a picture of the world (and all that goes with that). Just like how Delilah did with Samson, the world can lull us to sleep on its knees. Are we feeling more and more comfortable with the things of this world? It can sneak in so quietly. Are we starting to embrace more and more secular entertainment? Secular music? Secular friendships / relationships? Secular mindsets and popular views? As we draw near to the world, our strength in You will weaken. Finally, as with Samson and his hair (the source of his strength) – once his hair was cut, his strength was GONE, and he didn’t even know it. The world can affect us the same way. After a while – all our strength, faith and relationship with You can be gone, but we’re so compromised and watered down we don’t even see it! God, pls help us to draw near to YOU and to pursue holiness, not this world and all its pleasures! May we learn from Samson! In Jesus’s mighty name, amen.

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    1. Samson was sworn from birth to be a nazarite which John the baptist was also. Neither of them cut their hair which is interesting from the point of electro acoustic longitudinal wave perspective.

      Women were to cover their head for fear Of attracting watcher attention but the same idea is there that hair works as some kind of medium or antenna in the human body.

      This occurred to me when Peggy wrote of samson and delilah. There is Something important in the admonition to not pray with your head covered. I think Jesus did not cover his head either though the movies depict him that way.

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    2. Very sobering. Holy Spirit is warning across the globe. Warfare has increased and all groups across so very many online sites are sounding the alarm. Can’t even name them all. Linda’s dream was spot on too. Serious times. Certainly shakes one to search the heart. I pray to be counted worthy!

      Samson is sobering in that he didn’t know………..1 Timothy 4:1
      Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

      Being deceived in end times has always been a huge area of fear for me. We have to hear and know we are hearing from Holy Spirit. Speaking to self here as the battles rage on.

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      1. but perfect love casteth out fear says 1 John 4:18. Perfect love is found in TRUST as i have found it. If we fear we can say that i trust the Lord Jesus and let the torment of fear fly away. And in the case of fearing being deceived i trust myself that years of bible reading has left an imprint of truth on me that is almost foolproof being ME proof. The rest the Holy Spirit will take care of because Jesus said he will not let anyone go who TRUSTS(Look above) in him.

        If we TRUST in him he will not let go!
        1 John 5

        5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

        Belief and trust dear Sonshine, these characteristics are abundant in Colorado i think. Especially in a chicken farmer i know through Jcs blog 🙂

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  5. “When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

    This just occured to me… When is our Messiah revealed? At his second coming. We will be revealed with Him at his coming!

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    1. Thats a good grasp of detail you have there Mike. Even IF the book of Enoch is not Canon scripture maybe IT reveals the number of saints also? And these saints are martyrs of the tribulation IF i remember correctly?

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    1. Yes, so many great details in Scripture! The resurrection of the tribulation saints in Revelation 20 seems to follow later. I think it is the ones privy to the resurrection Paul speaks of:

      “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so WE SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH THE LORD.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

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    1. You can find reference to canabalism in Deuteronomy 28.
      Here’s part of it “Then you shall eat the offspring of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters whom the Lord your God has given you, during the siege and the distress by which your enemy will oppress you.”

      Here’s a related link from Linda that lists more on Deuteronomy 28.
      https://believeacts2blog.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/2-4-16-what-happens-to-a-country-like-the-united-states-that-turns-away-from-the-lord-and-does-not-repent-as-a-nation/

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      1. I’m reading through the Bible cover to cover again (about 21 pages per day) and I’m in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel……and I’m seeing quite a bit of prophecy from these about cannabalism to come. It is indeed very sad to contemplate.

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    1. I found this video to be very interesting. He mentions reporting a sacrifice at Cern, do you JC know which video he was talking about?

      He also mentions the earth being tilted before and shows on the map but not where he got the info from. Maybe Velikovsky but does anyone know from where?

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  10. IF one counts the generations the fallen angels in Enoch were to be imprisoned their release should have occurred around 1940s to 70s. Nazis started expeditions to Antarctica in 1930s culminating in Grand amiral Dönitz statement in 1943 that they built a Shangri-La for the fuhrer!

    The prophecies in Daniel about knowledge increasing is in line with the modus operandi of the fallen ones in Enoch. They gave knowledge in trade for human women most likely and nowadays genetic material from humans. Its interesting that the tech explosion started in Germany in the 40s on an unprecedented level as the german nazi leaders were unashamedly involving themselves in blackest of black occultism.

    I dont recommend you to see the movie hellboy but IT gives an direction what the nazis were doing!

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  11. Daily Devotional — 3/17/17

    STOP MAKING GOD “SAFE”
    “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34

    Our Open Doors colleague, Ron Boyd-MacMillan, shares the following insight from his teaching, “Why I Need to Encounter the Persecuted Church.”

    Don’t let them make God safe!” These words of send-off for me at the Bombay airport were from an Indian Christian evangelist. He had a low opinion of western churches. After visiting them he confided, “They have managed to turned a dangerous God into a safe one…instead of a God that burns with fury against hypocrisy, idolatry and injustice, they have a God that turns a blind eye to all our faults, just keeps on loving us with a disinterested air, and seems not to care whether we stand out for him or not.”

    The persecuted never let us forget that knowing God should bring chaos, not safety, because God’s gospel is so subversive. The life of the Indian evangelist proves this point. He used to work as a river guide in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. It was his job to row tourists around the river especially at sunrise so they could take pictures of the morning sun shining on the giant rows of temple steps, called ghats that hugged the river bank. His employer insisted he provide sexual services for the tourists who hired the boat, and he soon became a male prostitute.

    A few years later he received the gospel as a result of a chance encounter with a tourist. After becoming a Christian he said, “I felt relief that I did not have to behave that way again. Suddenly a whole new set of choices opened up for me. But I was apprehensive too—the choices that pleased God would not please anyone else.” His employer had him beaten by thugs. But he refused to return to work as a prostitute. He was sacked and immediately had to leave town.

    At first he went back to his family, but they were not happy to see him. His mother wailed, “We sold you so you could look after us in our old age, and now you are following a bad god who has made you refuse to provide for us.”

    He became convicted that he must return to Varanasi and work to free all the other sex slaves. He began setting up a bank so that low paid workers could borrow at reasonable rates of interest, and not have to go to loan sharks that kept them in financial slavery. He said, “Jesus Christ had given me freedom, and now I had to fight for the freedom of other people just like me. I had to. Jesus makes us pure and sacred, and it is not right that his children should be bought and sold and used like cattle.” He has survived two assassination attempts. His wife had acid thrown over her by thugs employed by the leaders of the prostitution rackets. This man is driven by a love for a God that is determined to set his children free.

    God has been made far too safe when we can attend churches and never be roused to do something about the challenge of the poor, the needy, and the persecuted. God wants us to stand up and out against sin. He promised us that following Him would get us into a fight. The fight will come to us if only we realize how subversive His gospel really is. Let the persecuted help.

    RESPONSE: Today I will stand up and stand out for God and His righteousness…not look for a safe life.

    PRAYER: Lord, bless all, like the Indian evangelist, who stand up for You today in a spiritual fight.

    Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

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  14. I thought that some people may be interested in this Prophecy given at our church 2 years ago.

    Prophecy to Church
    (Corporately and Individually)
    by Prophet Ray
    Friday, March 13, 2015

    Pastor noted that the last time that Prophet Ray came, the Scripture he gave us was I Chronicles 12:32. It was about “the Issachar anointing,” which has to do with discerning of the times and season. We need to be aware of the time and season that we are living in.

    Prophet Ray: Thanks be to the grace of God. Jesus made himself of no reputation, and I am His follower, so I will do the same myself.

    Prophecy to the Guest Praise Band that was there that night: God will take them to dark and dank places. There will be no applause, and no thanks in this world. But, the truth of Scripture in the songs will be as seeds planted, and there will be a harvest of souls.

    We MUST know what’s going on here and in the world. WE CANNOT BE BLIND-SIDED. WE CANNOT BE CAUGHT UNAWARE!

    [A Word of healing was given to a woman regarding the healing of a tumor in her breast. She was in tears.]

    Promise: Exodus 23:22-32 Receive this individually and corporately.
    IMPORTANT: Listen to the voice of God through HIS WORD and OBEY in HUMILITY. Also remember, “Not my will, but THY WILL be done.”

    regarding false gods=BE CAREFUL who you listen to; We are in SPIRITUAL WARFARE.( See II Corinthians 10:4) We are in SPIRITUAL COMBAT. God wants to give you a long life. Why? Because you are NEEDED. We are only called to SERVICE.
    You’re in the service now.

    Every time I (Prophet Ray) come here to this church, the anointing is here!

    This is SERIOUS STUFF. We have to BE PREPARED, at a MOMENT’S notice to defeat the enemy. Everyone of you has a gift- something to use against the enemy. You MUST PREPARE, as in MILITARY TRAINING.
    There’s increase coming (I assume he meant increased anointing.)

    Read Exodus 23:22-32 (given above) when you go home tonight, when you get up in the morning. KEEP RE-READING- THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT for all of you individually and collectively.

    Instill in the enemy a fear from the UNCTION OF THE SPIRIT and of HOW MUCH OF THE WORD OF GOD is in you. We are not in “la la land” anymore!

    THIS IS SERIOUS. The times are coming and God is preparing His army.

    [A Word was given to a young woman, she looks to be of high school age. “No more questions. I (God/Jesus) have the answers. -Then recommendations were given on how she could go about seeking the Lord.- I will speak to you. I will explain things to you.
    You will have an anointing.]

    Thus says The Lord: “There is too much of the world in the church. It MUST be DRIVEN OUT.” God said He’s SICK of it.

    For the Pastor: Genesis 39:21 Then he said the message is actually for the body present: “There are prisoners out there. They have been committed to our hand.”

    Acts 16: 25-26 God takes our voice and what we SPEAK. When we declare THE WORD OF GOD, it is MORE POWERFUL than anything in the UNIVERSE.

    God said He’s sending the “SUDDENLIES”- heaven is coming down.
    The foundations of the prison were created by the devil. As you PRAISE and WORSHIP HIM- worship in Spirit and in TRUTH–not sure how he ended the sentence- (I praise God and thank Him for the Light of the Glorious Gospel)

    Hebrews 12:25-27

    [Word for a husband and wife- awesome prayer warriors/interceders for this Church] I see your MANY HOURS OF PRAYER. You are flock leaders. You are Gate-Keepers. You have the “crook,” the Shepherd’s Staff.]

    Regarding Paul and Silas, the EARTHQUAKE was GOD SPEAKING.
    VERSE 27: It will be TRAUMATIC when things are shaken out of each one of our lives. God’s ready to SHAKE OUT. ONLY THAT WHICH IS OF HIM WILL REMAIN.

    [Word for a woman I didn’t know: You are and have been in a holding pattern for a VERY LONG TIME. If you seek Me early, you will find Me. BE STILL. Sing praises.
    I come to INHABIT the PRAISES OF MY PEOPLE. ]

    The act of OBEDIENCE is IMPORTANT. End of Messages.
    [Ray stated that He is in God’s Service as His messenger. We have heard the messages. Now it is entirely up to us on how we will respond to this.
    Ray stated that he didn’t want any applause and didn’t want to be thanked.]

    ALLELUIA. AMEN.

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  15. I just want to give the Lord glory for His healing! I’ve been battling clogged sinus for almost a week. Yesterday, fever, chills and a burning throat hit. I asked some friends for prayer yesterday morning. One called to pray, the other one on messaging. The new believer/friend who lives on the property had never seen The Passion. I put the DVD on (it’s been many years since I have seen it) and during the movie Jesus healed all the symptoms! The verse at the beginning of the movie:
    Isaiah 53:5
    But He was wounded for our transgressions,
    He was bruised for our iniquities;
    The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
    And by His stripes we are healed.

    Watching that movie during these times we are in, the price Jesus paid….no words. Just a small glimpse of the reality of all.

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  16. Scriptural verse of the day — 3/18/17

    Romans 15:13
    Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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  17. Daily Devotional — 3/18/17

    Operating System
    1 Corinthians 2:1–16

    Recommended Reading: Proverbs 1:1–7; 2:1–22; 4:1–27

    Do you stay up on New Year’s Eve to wait for the clock to strike midnight? If you do, you probably don’t care that much about when the New Year begins in places like Fiji or Auckland, New Zealand. However, you probably cared a bit more on December 31, 1999, as TV cameras captured the stroke of midnight in those locations to see whether the world had avoided the Y2K disaster. As clocks struck 12:00, 12:01, 12:02 in each time zone around the world, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief that televisions still functioned, nuclear power plants hadn’t failed and cars continued running.

    Remember the craziness that preceded Y2K? Companies and governments spent billions of dollars to hire software programmers to pore over and correct millions of lines of computer code. All because of a looming catastrophe if computers were to misread the last two zeroes in the year 2000 as 1900.

    Ironically, most of us have zero understanding of computer code. The apostle Paul said that wisdom is much the same way. Unless we have the Holy Spirit to help us know the language of God’s wisdom, we won’t really understand it. “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14). People who don’t have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them quite naturally struggle to grasp spiritual wisdom—God’s Word, his desires, his character, his values. In fact, God’s wisdom often seems foolish to non-Christians. It’s like a foreign language to them. But when people trust in Christ as Savior, God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within them (see John 14:16–17). They can begin learning God’s wisdom while the Holy Spirit helps them understand it.

    If we believe that true wisdom comes only from God, where should we turn when we seek wisdom? Paul provides the answer: “’What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit’” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10). In the Bible God speaks the language that drives us—our spiritual operating system. If we want to know God’s wisdom so that we can process the joys and trials of everyday living, we need to turn often to God’s Word and ask the Spirit to help us understand it.

    To Take Away
    Do you ever struggle to understand thoughts and concepts from the Bible? How do you think the Holy Spirit can help?
    Are you growing in your understanding of God and spiritual truth? When was the last time you asked the Spirit to help you understand God’s Word?
    What practical steps can you take to grow in God’s wisdom?

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  20. Daily Devotional — 3/19/17

    VISIONS OF JESUS – MESSIAH
    Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:33

    Some of Jesus’ disciples took time to come to a place where they recognized this very human being they followed was also God. Interestingly, in Matthew’s account of their journey with Jesus, it was the calming of the terrible storm that finally convinced them. Jesus later told His disciples that people who have not seen His miracles and still believe are even more blessed. But still today, many people need a supernatural revelation to trust Him.

    Throughout the Muslim world come reports of people having dreams and visions of Jesus. In this way, He becomes real to them and further reading of scripture confirms His status as Messiah and Savior.

    Hedayat is an Iranian youth who had always been a good Muslim and practiced the rituals required by his faith, but he had never considered the message of the Quran to be very positive. An Armenian Christian friend of Hedayat sometimes shared a little with Hedayat about the Christian faith of his family. He didn’t say too much, because he did not want to get in trouble for it. But one day he gave Hedayat a movie, warning him to watch it when he was alone.

    Watching the movie did not convince Hedayat of the Christian faith, nor his dream afterwards. He says, “I had prayed the prayer at the end of the video, and then I had this dream. I saw a man in my house, standing before me. I saw marks in his wrists and feet, and I just knew this must be Jesus.”

    Hedayat recalls after that, he had felt very confused and did not want to accept any of this. He realized that especially his older brother might become furious if he accepted the Christian faith. So he decided to block any thoughts about this and cut the relationship with his Armenian friend.

    Although the Armenian tried to get in touch many times, Hedayat always refused. Four years later the Armenian believer mustered up courage and went to the electronics shop where Hedayat worked. Walking up to his old friend, he shoved a small present over the counter.

    “I will never forget you and will always pray for you,” the Christian said. Then he turned around and left the shop, leaving Hedayat astonished.

    “From the size of the package, I thought it was a pocket-diary. But it turned out to be a New Testament,” Hedayat remembers. “At the moment I unpacked it, I felt anger coming up, because he was chasing me with his Christianity! I put it away, but in the evening I became curious and wondered if I could discover if the Bible indeed was corrupted, as I was told.”

    So Hedayat started reading Matthew, Mark, and Luke. After a few months, Hedayat contacted his Armenian friend at the phone number that was on a little note in the Bible. The Word of God had convinced him that there was no Mehdi coming, as Iranian Shias believe, but that it was Jesus the Messiah he should be expecting. Through his friend, he was soon welcomed into a house church and discipled.

    RESPONSE: Today I will thank God for His Son revealed through His Word which is enough for me.

    PRAYER: Pray for many more who see Jesus in dreams and visions to come to a place of acceptance.

    Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

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  21. Daily Bible Verse and Prayer
    by “Jolie”

    “Be sober and watchful, b/c your adversary the devil walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).
    “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

    Heavenly Father, this is so true! A lot of people don’t even believe the devil is REAL. And they certainly don’t think he plays an active role in wanting to destroy us. But this is so far from the truth. Satan and his demons hate us each with a passion, and do all they can to steal, kill and destroy all that is good in our lives. Their ultimate goal is to get us so wrapped in lies and sin, that we end up in Hell with them. However, if we submit to YOU, Lord God, and commit to live our lives according to Your standards laid out in the Bible (ALL of Your standards), we will be able to resist the devil. Resisting the devil means that we say NO to sin. In every temptation: we have a choice. Will we choose to sin, or obey God? As we resist the devil consistently, however, he will flee from us! Lord God, please give us the stamina and determination to faithfully, moment by moment, submit to You and resist the devil! We love You Lord! In Jesus’s name, amen.

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    2. Amen & Amen

      A friend and I just had this conversation less then 30 minutes ago…it is truth and we must speak it out for all the world to hear before it’s too late.

      Thank you for sharing Peggy.

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