Maybe There’s A Strained Relationship In Your Life Right Now. Could That Be Why God Wanted Us Talking About This? There Have Been Too Many Bad Feelings You Let Hang On! Think Where We’d Be If Jesus Threw In The Towel Every Time, We Messed Up With Him.

Ephesians 4:26-27, “If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil” (TLB)

You Can Get Angry But Watch This: How About We Take A Look At The Part We Play… Maybe There’s A Strained Relationship In Your Life Right Now. Could That Be Why God Wanted Us Talking About This Today? This is how well we take care of our Being Offended, Holding A Grudge, Anger, Resentment, and Bitterness! All the emotions that are opening the door for the devil’s foothold into our relationships/friendships are being Held, Nurtured, Harbored, and Cultivated…BY US! Do You Know What We’ve Deliberately Decided to Do With Our Grudge, Anger, Resentment, and Bitterness?  We’ve purposely grasped it, carried, supported, and kept it, we have possession of it, we keep it contained and we cause it to stay by allowing it to be held onto tightly and securely. We’re dwelling on it secretly in our thoughts and feelings and it means so much to us that we’ve even provided it with refuge, shelter, and protection. We are even preparing it for use as we raise and grow, maintain, acquire, and develop it because we have no intention of letting any of it go! And that’s why the devil has been able to repeatedly enjoy a sweatless victory over our relationships/friendships.

Don’t Ruin What Simply Needs Repairing! I always find it amusing and sad that people will quicker redeem cans and coupons, than they will redeem people, relationships, friendships, and even marriages…Sadly, we possess the Fruit of the Spirit, yet our Flesh has caused it to Rot.

Ephesians 4, starting with verse 26, reads, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the Devil a foothold.” Well, there’s a biblical clock here on strained relationships/friendships, just like there is on letting dirty dishes sit untouched. The longer you wait to clean it up, the harder it is to clean it up. Our conflicts in relationships/friendships are like that too. That’s why it’s wise not to allow things to sit, settle and fester. Remember, according to the Bible, we have a clock on our discord, and that clock runs out at sundown every day! In other words, we really shouldn’t be hanging on to our anger after the end of the day.

That reminds me of a lot of those old Western movies I used to love to watch. If you’ve ever seen them, you will know the famous line all the marshals use, “You better be out of here by sundown!” Well, that’s what we’re supposed to be saying to any anger, resentment, bitterness, or conflict that comes up in our relationships/friendships. “Get out of here by sundown!” There’s a good reason for this. You know those food remnants on dirty dishes which I was talking about? If you deal with them right away, they’re soft and easy to remove; just kind of scrape them a little bit and they fall right off. But you know what happens if you wait with a dirty plate? The longer it sits dirty, the harder it is to get clean!

Makes me wonder if that’s where we coined the term, “hard feelings “? Because our unresolved hurt is just as hard as the non-rinsed dishes! And sadly enough, that’s when the Devil gets an opportunity to enter a marriage, a parent-child relationship, a friendship, or a church, business, school, or workplace.

In conducting various marriage counseling sessions, I’ve discovered that at the core of almost every marriage breakup, there was an issue that once was small, but it wasn’t dealt with when it was small. That’s why it’s so hard to mend marriages because problems are never dealt with when they occur. They’re not dealt with until what was delayed has now become damaged beyond repair. This is also why it’s so hard to keep to the current issue because couples have left so many “small” issues ignored, that now that there’s a problem that happened in January of this year, it can’t be resolved. After all, so much time and energy are still focused on the arguments from January 2020!

In addition, at the core of broken parent-child relationships or a hurting friendship, or a divided church, some people didn’t clean up their anger when it first appeared; when it was still small when it was still manageable when it was relatively soft. And now it’s led to a terrible hardening outcome. And the truth is, we can’t blame the devil. The Scripture tells us not to give him a “foothold”, but a foothold is just enough space for a person to put their foot in the door. But who opened the door? The devil couldn’t get his foot in if you didn’t open the door and grant him access. And how do you grant him foothold access? By sending your anger to answer the door!

“Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. AND DO NOT ALLOW THE DEVIL [TO LEAD YOU INTO SIN BY HOLDING A GRUDGE, OR NURTURING ANGER, OR HARBORING RESENTMENT, OR CULTIVATING BITTERNESS].” (AMP).

“…DO NOT GIVE THE DEVIL AN OPPORTUNITY…” And what’s an “opportunity”? It’s defined as “a favorable time or set of circumstances for doing something; a career opening offered; a chance for promotion; a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal; a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success.” And all of that is the Opportunity you allow your grudge, anger, resentment, and bitterness to grant to the devil. So, when he gets a “foothold” in your relationships, friendships, marriage, children, church, business, workplace, remember who opened the door and invited him in as their special guest…yep, you guessed it…YOU! We made the circumstances favorable for him, we hired him and gave him a career and promotion to destroy our life and loved ones, we helped him attain his goal of disruption, discord, and destruction, we placed him in a good position, we helped advance his attack and gain success. Yes, YOU and the emotions you sent to answer the door of your relationships/friendships! This my friend is not one of those times when you can say, “The devil made me do it.” No, WE did it, all on our own! As parents, those are things we like to call Responsibility and Accountability. And if the devil has gotten a foothold into our relationships/friendships, we set out the welcome mat for him to step on. We are held accountable because it was our responsibility to make sure it didn’t happen!

Listen to the Scripture again, “Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. AND DO NOT ALLOW THE DEVIL [TO LEAD YOU INTO SIN BY HOLDING A GRUDGE, OR NURTURING ANGER, OR HARBORING RESENTMENT, OR CULTIVATING BITTERNESS].” (AMP). One, small 3-letter word is key, “…LET…” defined as “to allow someone to have the use of” You were not supposed to give the devil a foothold, but you did, even though the Scripture commanded you, “…DO NOT LET YOUR ANGER…” Did you catch that? “…YOUR…” All of this is YOUR Responsibility! You are not to give the devil room to be allowed to use your anger against you and your relationships/friendships. We are held accountable for allowing the devil to have the opportunity! And how did we do that? Pay attention to the Scripture:

“…HOLDING A GRUDGE…”; “…NURTURING ANGER…”; “…HARBORING RESENTMENT…”;

“…CULTIVATING BITTERNESS…” You know, for this to be “the devil’s” fault, as many will use as their excuse, We sure are doing quite a bit in this text to help him don’t you think?

“Holding” – is defined as “to grasp, carry, support, keep, have in one’s possession, contain, cause to stay, remain tightly secured”

“Nurturing” – is defined as “to rear and encourage the development of; to feed and cherish”

“Harbor” – is defined as “to keep (a thought or feeling) secretly in one’s mind; to give refuge, shelter or protection to”

“Cultivate” – is defined as “to prepare and use; raise and grow; to maintain; to acquire and develop.”

This is how well you take care of your Being Offended, Holding A Grudge, Anger, Resentment, and Bitterness! Do you know this is better care and treatment than some spouses and children receive? All the emotions that are opening the door for the devil’s foothold into our relationships/friendships are being Held, Nurtured, Harbored, and Cultivated…BY US! Do You Know What We’ve Deliberately Decided to Do With Our Grudge, Anger, Resentment, and Bitterness, according to the above definitions? We’ve purposely grasped it, carry, supported, and kept it, we have possession of it, we keep it contained and we cause it to stay by allowing it to be held onto tightly and securely. We’re rearing it up like a child and encouraging its development by feeding and cherishing it. We’re dwelling on it secretly in our thoughts and feelings and it means so much to us that we’ve even provided it with refuge, shelter, and protection. We are even preparing it for use as we raise and grow, maintain, acquire, and develop it because we have no intention of letting any of it go! And that’s why the devil has been able to repeatedly enjoy a sweatless victory over your relationships/friendships. With the loving way we hold our grudges, nurture our anger, harbor our resentment, and cultivate our bitterness, what exactly is there left for him to do?

Please understand, it will never be smaller than it is today. I know that it’s bigger than it used to be, but this is the smallest it’s ever going to be. It will never be easier to address that conflict, that resentment, that anger than it is right now, no matter how hard that might seem. It’s only going to get harder the longer you let it sit there untouched and unaddressed. It will only get more costly because you’re going to lose relationships, friendships, trust, support, and even love.

Now, I know we live in a day and age of the “church”, where everybody will tell you, “Just let them go, drop ‘em, leave ‘em, forget about ‘em”, however, I do not believe that this is the Conduct of Christians.

Listen, I by no means am saying that those of you with “justifiable hurt and legitimate pain” should not be angry. Even the Scripture doesn’t say, “GO AHEAD AND BE ANGRY. YOU DO WELL TO BE ANGRY…” (MSG) The Bible does not tell us to hide, mask, camouflage, or pretend with our feelings and emotions. We’re never asked to lie about the level of hurt we’ve experienced. However, we cannot take Part of the Scripture, we must embrace it Whole, and the rest reads, “…BUT DON’T USE YOUR ANGER AS FUEL FOR REVENGE. AND DON’T STAY ANGRY. DON’T GO TO BED ANGRY. DON’T GIVE THE DEVIL THAT KIND OF FOOTHOLD IN YOUR LIFE.” (MSG)

Get Angry, Deal With it in a Healthy Manner, Then Let It Go Before Sundown! Listen to the Bible, “…DON’T USE YOUR ANGER AS FUEL…” And for a lot of us, that’s exactly what we’re doing, using our anger as fuel. And one of the definitions of “fuel” is “to supply or give power to.” That’s why it keeps going, that’s why that issue never stops, because you keep refueling it, day-by-day, never dealing with it, never addressing it, never resolving it, and never letting it go. Well, today, I was sent to you for the sole purpose of taking your discord out of delay mode and shifting it to deal with it mode instead!

Psalm 37:8 “Don’t give in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble.”

The Good News: When you can act based on your negative emotions, you might make the wrong decisions, so take your time to calm down before doing anything.

The word “delay” is defined as “to put off to a later time; defer; postpone; to impede the process or progress of; to put off action; to retard or hinder.” The key word, however, is “impede”. It means “to delay or block the progress or action of.” But its Latin Origin “impedire” means ‘shackle the feet of’. How dangerous to have the devil’s foot free, but yours shackled! While you’re doing nothing, he’s able to move around freely all through your house, marriage, family, relationships, friendships, and churches and cause havoc everywhere!

Think about it, do you want to lose that family member, that relationship, that friendship? As much as it meant. As long as it’s been. With all the good times and memories, are you willing to sit shackled on the sidelines while the devil steps all over everything and everyone you love? Have you forgotten their value, their worth, and their importance?

Let no one tell you that anyone is beyond restoration. Not even Jesus felt that way. And He had good reason to kick quite a few folks to the curb, but He didn’t…Judas betrayed Him (but He didn’t discard him); Peter denied Him (but He didn’t discard him); Thomas doubted Him (but He didn’t discard him); and in the end, they all left but John, and still He didn’t discard them He gave up His life still. Can you imagine hanging on a cross, dying yourself, between 2 thieves, knowing full well that they are guilty as sin, and yet one calls out to Him, and He still answers? Don’t discard your loved ones. One day they will be on the other side of dirt, and by then it will be too late to wish you had dealt with what you delayed.

We are still called to the Ministry of Reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:16-20, “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that ANYONE UNITED WITH THE MESSIAH GET’S A FRESH START, IS CREATED NEW. THE OLD LIFE IS GONE; A NEW LIFE BURGEONS! Look at it! All this comes from the God WHO SETTLED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN US AND HIM AND THEN CALLED US TO SETTLE OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world A FRESH START by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what He is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to DROP THEIR DIFFERENCES and enter God’s work of MAKING THINGS RIGHT BETWEEN THEM. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; He’s already a friend with you.” (MSG)

All Of This God Did For Us, So We Could Do The Very Same For Others. Don’t Ruin What Simply Needs Repairing! They Can Be Redeemed, They Can Be Restored, They Can Be Renewed, And You Both Can Be Reconciled! Don’t Give Up And Give In So Quickly. Just Think Where We’d All Be If Jesus Threw In The Towel Every Time, We Messed Up Our Relationship/Friendship With Him!

Ecclesiastes 7:9 “Keep your temper under control; it is foolish to harbor a grudge.”

The Good News: A lot of situations can make us react angrily and that’s perfectly normal. But we shouldn’t hold grudges because it’s pointless and exhausting.

Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

The Good News: When someone angry confronts you, don’t fight with them. Try and talk to them calmly as it’ll help calm them down and make their anger go away.

Today is always your best opportunity to go to that person and do whatever it takes to repair things. Apologize if you need to, confront if you need to, pray together, and talk it through. You just can’t afford the hard spot in your heart that develops from anger that you stuff inside and let sit and settle. Anger never stays the same size. Bitterness never stays the same size. It always grows, just like sin! James 1:13-15,) You can’t afford for the sin of bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness to grow! Neither can you allow anger, even when it’s justified, to grow! Because all you will be doing is helping the devil accomplish his goal, letting those things grow until they become a “…Real Killer” to you, your relationships, friendships, marriages, families, jobs, and churches.

Remember the ‘dish-rinse’ philosophy, there’s nothing to gain in waiting! The longer you wait, the harder it gets! Today is a great day for a new start. So, call them, email them, text them, write to them, visit them. Whatever it takes for however long it takes, put the work in and rebuild your relationship ruins! It can be done; it will be done. No More Delays…Today…DEAL WITH IT…before the sun goes down!

Luke 17:3-4, “Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.” (MSG)
James 1:19-20

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”

The Good News: Keep your faith in God and trust that He will guide you in dealing with a situation. But try to react without anger because an angry person is prone to sinning and that goes against God’s word.

Matthew 18:21-22, "At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, “Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?” Jesus replied, “Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven." (MSG)

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.thewordwithjpolson.com

One Of The Enemy’s Favorite Entry Points Into Our Lives Is Disappointment. But You Can Train Yourself To Recognize The Three Strategies Of The Enemy So You Can Stand Strong And Persevere Through Unsettling Relationships And Uncertain Outcomes.

It's important to understand that Satan doesn’t want you to gain any more ground! One Of The Enemy’s Favorite Entry Points Into Our Lives Is Disappointment. But You Can Train Yourself To Recognize The Three Strategies Of The Enemy So You Can Stand Strong And Persevere Through Unsettling Relationships And Uncertain Outcomes.

The Enemy Does Not Bother Those Who Do Not Bother Him! If you are not reading the Word, in prayer, fasting, obeying the commandments, fellowshipping with your brothers and sisters in Christ, walking in the Spirit, being directed, and guided by the Holy Ghost, what does he want with you? What can you do to attack his kingdom, when you are not armed with any of the weaponry of the Kingdom yourself!?

Here is what happens: God's Word has landed in your heart. You are starting to gain some ground spiritually, so hell has been notified and your enemy is alarmed. He comes immediately to try to take away the ground you just gained through God's Word. This Is What Causes Us To Become Discouraged So Quickly. Because As Soon As God Gives Us A Word, Satan Goes To War! God Speaks Healing, And Here Comes Satan With Another Symptom; God Speaks Wealth, And Here Comes Satan With An Unexpected Bill; God speaks promotion, and here comes Satan with a layoff; God speaks a new home, and here comes Satan with a leaky roof; God speaks opportunity, and here comes Satan with obstacles; God speaks calm, and here comes Satan with chaos; God speaks anniversary, and here comes Satan with divorce papers! And he does not drag his feet either, the Bible says, "at once, by force, right away, immediately, no sooner than, quickly, and as soon as" the Word is Sown, here comes Satan with his Shovel!

Mark 4:15, “These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the Word is sown; but when they hear, SATAN IMMEDIATELY comes and takes away the Word which has been sown in them.” (AMP)

1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (NIV)

1 John 2:14b-15, “I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.” (NLT)

You see, you have (a promise; a word from God) and the enemy is worried and ready to attack because he cannot let you have that ground, then gain more! God is getting ready in this season to prune us. He knows that the enemy is ready to attack, you see suddenly Satan is interested in you. He did not have to bother you when you were not a threat. He did not bother you when you stopped fasting, became lazy in reading/studying the Word, started slacking in your prayer/devotion time with God, and when you started making excuses for skipping Bible Study. The enemy did not think 2 cents about you. You did not even appear on his radar.

Let's face it; we all have some days when we feel like we're stuck in the basement, right? The view isn't very inspiring, and neither is the situation we're in. We’re low in funds, low in joy, low in peace, low in confidence, low in health, low in marriage, low in single-hood, and low in dealing with the battles of raising children, low in dealing with coworkers and even low while sitting in the pew next to our brothers and sisters in Christ! There are simply some moments in life when we have crashed in the basement, instead of breaking through the ceiling! Can we be real about it?

Know that everybody who says they are praying for you, are not! Not everyone asking about your situation cares that you get out of it, some just want to make sure you are still in it! That is why discernment and wisdom are necessities, not options! Well, the good news is that there is no basement so deep or so gloomy that you must stay there, because there’s an elevator just waiting to take you up! Trust God and Trust, the process. That’s why discernment and wisdom are necessities, not options! In spite of what you face as a struggle, it’s important that you learn how to put your praise in place, so your problem doesn’t knock you out of position. The problem with us is that we let fear supersede our faith!

Truth is, we must reach a place of trust, reliance, dependence, and faith in God where our circumstances don’t alter our praise! We need our situations, trials, and struggles to see that we walk by faith, even when that walk takes us through the valleys of the shadows of death!

Satan, the commander of hell's forces, is determined to stop you from ever becoming what Jesus died for you to be! And like any smart general, he knows he must stop you before you grow and gain any more ground. His strategy is revealed in Mark 4:15. "Some people are like seeds along the path, where the word is sown. AS SOON AS they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them."

Listen to what Satan does WHEN YOU HEAR A WORD FROM THE LORD: “AT ONCE AND BY FORCE… RIGHT AWAY SATAN COMES… SATAN SOON COMES… SATAN IMMEDIATELY COMES… SATAN COMES AT ONCE… NO SOONER DO THEY HEAR THE WORD THAN SATAN SNATCHES… SATAN QUICKLY COMES…”

Listen: If you do not Guard the Word God has given you, Satan will come in IMMEDIATELY, and fight to steal it! And in the end, you will be the one fleeing, and surrendering everything, including those attached to you!

In other words, by no means is Satan playing games, in fact, he’s playing for keeps! “The thief’s PURPOSE is to STEAL AND KILL AND DESTROY…” (John 10:10 NLT) Nothing about that sounds like child’s play! Which is why it’s so vital that you take the enemy seriously! He has a Purpose just as much as you do! And if you let him, he will fulfill his, leaving you to forfeit yours!

Which may help explain why things have suddenly gotten so tough for you, why things are going wrong, why you don't have the spiritual enthusiasm you did before. Your logical reaction is, "I've been really trying to do what God wants, so what's wrong here?" The answer is, "'Nothing's wrong! It's because something's right!"

However, for those who have made the decision to get rid of their bad habits, attitudes, and addictions; those who have decided to reignite the fire in their gifts, prayer, and devotion time; those spending more time with God, the saints, and in the sanctuary; those hearing from God and following the directives of the Holy Ghost, the enemy is screaming from hell, “READY, AIM, FIRE!”

And by no means should that terrify you, in fact, it ought to excite you, that you are finally on the enemies hit list! It is not because of what you’ve done wrong, it’s because you’ve finally got it right!

So now he's got to get himself in a position to make it hard for you! He has got to stop your forward progress fast or there's no telling how much ground he's going to lose! He must stop you before you start interceding for folks, laying hands on people, speaking in tongues, binding the works of the flesh. He’s got to stop you before you start pleading the blood of Jesus over your family; before you start anointing your children. He’s got to stop you before you start speaking those things that be not as though they were. He’s got to stop you before your hope is renewed and your faith is revived. He’s got to stop you before you start believing that God meant just what He said concerning you.

He’s got to stop you before you start dreaming again. He’s got to stop you before you stop living in the past and start seeing yourself in a great future. He’s got to stop you from walking with God before you gain more ground!

Satan gets busy whenever God has made a major landing in your life. Maybe you've recently made a new surrender of your life to Jesus, or you've said yes to His call on your life. You've stepped up to leadership. Could it be that you've begun a new work for the Lord? Made a new commitment to be the marriage partner or the parent you should be, to give more to the Lord's work, to live by new priorities? Guess what? Alarm bells are going off in hell!

When the enemy tries to tell you, your mission is impossible. Do the part which is possible for you and God will do the impossible. Absolutely nothing is impossible for God but with humans yes, we are limited but our God is limitless.

Satan will distort your vision and your situation will look impossible.  If you give the devil attention, he will give you direction.  Sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than

you want to pay.  Satan cannot solve problems, but he can create them. Satan will set you up to be set up. God is the reason even in pain, we smile. In confusion, we understand. In betrayal, we trust. And in fear, we continue to push forward.  Satan tries to limit your praying because he knows your praying will limit him. Do not face the day until you have faced God in prayer. Prayer is the best armor against all trials. Change your dialogue and you’ll change your destination.

Psalm 91: “You who sit down in the High God’s presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow, Say this: “God, You’re my refuge. I trust in You and I’M SAFE!” That’s right—He rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge, outstretched arms protect you—under them you’re PERFECTLY SAFE; His arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. You will stand UNTOUCHED, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. Yes, because God is your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door. HE ORDERED HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. If you stumble, they will catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. You’ll walk UNHARMED among lions and snakes and kick young lions and serpents from the path. “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the BEST OF CARE if you’ll only get to know and trust Me. Call Me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!” (MSG)

That is the security you have when you come near to God, and He comes near to you! Not only is He your refuge keeping you safe, but He’s also Ordered (not asked) His angels to guard you wherever you go! Remember this the next time God gives you a Word. Protect it by remaining in the Presence of God. Knowing that His angels are with you, guarding you, keeping you safe, wherever you go. That is how you protect your beachhead (‘your promise/your Word from God’). Don’t just let the devil take your property! Fight for it, guard it, and stay as close to God as you can!

Something I pray on a regular basis is that God will give me a keen awareness of the enemy’s plans and schemes against me. I want to be able to recognize his traps and avoid them.

As I compared these passages, I had a serious epiphany about how Satan goes after us. These verses outline Satan’s 3-pronged plan of attack on our hearts. And it is the same plan we see him using while tempting Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4:1-11! A fact that tells me while the enemy may be powerful, he is also predictable.

Let’s take a closer look at Satan’s plan as revealed in Eve’s story and Jesus’ story:

1. Make them crave some sort of physical gratification to the point they become preoccupied with it. Be it sex, drugs, alcohol or food.

Satan tempted Eve with fruit, which “was good for food” (Genesis 3:6b, NIV).

Satan tempted Jesus with bread while He was on a fast. (Matthew 4:3-4, NIV)

Satan tempts us with whatever physical sense we are too preoccupied by — be it taste, smell, sound, touch, or sight. God says that our senses are good. He gave them to us to enjoy within His boundaries. But venture outside God’s intention for them, and they become an attempt to get our needs met outside the will of God.

2. Make them want to acquire things to the point they bow down to the god of materialism. Keep them distracted by making their eyes lust after more and more stuff.

Satan tempted Eve by drawing her attention to what was “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 3:6c, NIV).

Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and told Him that He could have it all. (Matthew 4:8-10, NIV)

Satan flashes the newer, bigger, and seemingly better things of this world in front of us, trying to lure us into thinking we must have it. He tempts us to think: This will make me fulfilled. This will make me happy. And then it wears out, breaks down, gets old and reveals just how temporary every material thing is.

3. Make them boastful about what they have or do. Keep them distracted and obsessed with their status and significance. Choke the life out of them using the tentacles of their own pride.

Satan tempted Eve by promising an increased awareness which would make her become more like God. (Genesis 3:4-5, NIV)

Satan tempted Jesus by telling Him to throw Himself off the highest point of the temple and command the angels to save Him. (Matthew 4:5-7, NIV) This would be very impressive and raise Jesus’ status and significance in the eyes of the world.

Likewise, Satan tempts us to try and elevate ourselves over others. We wrongly think we must become something the world calls worthy. This creates a need within our flesh to have people notice us, commend us, revere us, and stroke our pride. We then dare to boast about all we are.

This is where we must stop and remind ourselves that we don’t have to be held hostage by Satan. We are onto him and his schemes. And the enemy’s power is nothing compared to the freeing promises of God.

There was an enormous difference between Eve’s response to Satan and Jesus’ response to Satan. Eve dialogued with Satan, and she allowed him to weave his tangled web of justifications. Jesus, on the other hand, quoted Deuteronomy with every temptation as He answered, “It is written …” and He immediately shut Satan down with the truth of God.

Do not get all excited about the Word from God and forget to Guard it! Remember the enemy is ready to steal, kill and destroy, and that includes you and the Word of Promise given to you. Don’t let him get it! He’s ready and alert, now make sure you are too!

 

1 Peter 5:8-11, “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So, keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are! —will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” (MSG) Stay Alert, The Devil Is Poised To Pounce! The Danger for us as believers in becoming lazy, is that the devil never is! He’s Poised to Pounce! He’s in Position to Attack, are you?!

You’ll Gain More Ground If You Keep the Devil Under Your Feet!

1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses." (AMP)

Therefore, Soldiers in the Lord's Army, Put Your Warfare Clothes On, Go to Battle and Guard the Word God Gave You!

 

The good news is that there is no basement so deep or so gloomy that you must stay there, because there’s an elevator just waiting to take you up! Trust God and Trust, the process.

Dear Lord, thank You for making us aware of the enemy’s plans against us. I declare today that while the enemy may be vicious, he will not be victorious in my life. Not with You helping me walk in truth and light. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.thewordwithjpolson.com

You Do Not Have To Look For God In Worship; If You Worship, He Will Come Looking For You! Deliverance Comes When You Can Worship God During The Worst Of Your Troubles! How Many Fall Into Worship Mode During Struggles? God Has Given Us A Timely Word!

 I Love This Analogy

When GOD wanted to create the fish, HE spoke to the sea; when GOD wanted to make the trees, HE spoke to the earth, but when GOD wanted to create Man, HE spoke to Himself.

Then GOD said, “Let us make Man in Our image, according to Our likeness.

If you take a fish out of the water, it will die; when you take a tree off the ground, it will also die. Similarly, when Man is disconnected from GOD, he dies.

GOD is our natural environment. We were created to live in HIS presence. Therefore, we must be connected to HIM because only in HIM there is life. Remember that water without fish is still water, but fish without water is nothing. Likewise, the soil without a tree is still soil, but the

Deliverance Comes When You Can Worship God During the Worst of Your Troubles! 

Jonah chapter 2 is another one of my favorite Scriptures!   During Trouble, Jonah Still Prayed unto the Lord! He Forgot about his Situation and Fully Turned His Attention to God! Can you imagine what would happen if the church did the same thing today? If we sought God, no matter our situation? If we still fell on bended knees, there was no point; how many times has the rug been pulled out from beneath us? If we still talked to God, no matter how badly others were talking about us? If we still went to church even if we had to walk there? Would we still read the Bible even when we lost our job? Can you imagine if we still sought God regardless of our current circumstances?

Just think what would become of our lives if we prayed as the Bible admonishes us to: "Pray At All Times" (1 Thessalonians 5:17 GNT) imagine how strong our relationship with God would become if we indeed prayed at all times. And that includes praying when the car breaks down; the kids are failing in school; the marriage is holding on by its last string; the job just laid you off; the doctor just gave you a cancerous diagnosis; your parent passes away; your sibling is strung out on drugs; your church is emptying; your bank accounts can't even keep the bare minimum anymore; would you still be able to pray to God, even in these times? Would you still trust Him? Would you still lean on Him? Would you still believe Him? Would you still praise and worship Him? Would you still have Faith in Him? Would you still thank Him?

When you study the content of Jonah's prayer in Jonah 2:2-9, you will discover that he wasn't praying the 'give me or get me out of this prayer,' but a Prayer of Worship and Thanksgiving ("…But I'm Worshiping you, God, calling out in Thanksgiving! " (Jonah 2:9 MSG) However, what happens next is Dynamic; the Bible says, "And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." (Jonah 2:10 NIV). What a Mighty Deliverance! But, if you look at what Jonah Worshiped in the Midst of to Get It, you will have to ask yourself, 'do I really want it that bad?' Because to get This Kind of Deliverance, you must Possess the Ability to Worship in the Worst of It! Yes, that means to pray, worship and thank God while the doctor has nothing else he can do for your disease; your teenage son tells you he has a baby on the way; your daughter comes home with a tattoo across her forehead; there's nothing in the fridge but the light-bulb; the toilet water won't go down, the heat won't come up, the car won't start and the bills won't stop! YES, You Have to Still Pray, Praise, Worship and Thank God in the Midst of It All! So How Bad Do You Really Want It?!

"…I cried because of my affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell I cried, and thou heard my voice." (Jonah 2:2).

We all know the disappointments that come when we base anticipation on what we and other humans can deliver. God will never have a problem delivering."  "What's damaged you as a child does not have to destroy you as an adult. God can deliver you from all your hurt and pain. Enter God's delivery room!"

Jonah Worshiped in The Midst of To Get It, God Will Never Have A Problem Delivering."  What is the definition of the word worship? Some Christians believe that worship is a lot of loud singing, jumping and whatever else they may have heard or believed.

Trying to define worship is a little like defining love or hope. An attempt to do so could go on forever. But I will try to keep it as short as possible. Put simply, worship is declaring the greatness of someone or something.

It is the act of giving up your own glory to make sure everyone knows that the thing being worshiped is pretty awesome.

To put it even more succinctly, worship is bowing down to lift up. Both primary words in Hebrew and Greek for worship in the Bible mean the same thing: to bow down or lay one's face to the ground. It is an acknowledgment of God's glory. There is someone who is transcendent and glorious, and He is worthy of our full allegiance and devotion!

Worship is a declaration that God is in the Midst of all that is happening in our world today, a powerful weapon against any lie that says God is not in control or that he is not able. Worshiping together teaches us to submit and surrender all our cares to God – our priorities, plans, hopes, dreams, and even our fears.

But worship is really about what we give. Not what we receive. 

Worship is bowing before our superior, in this case, God. True worship costs us something. In Romans 12:1 that cost is described as the sacrifice of self. When we come before God in worship, we humbly give ourselves up to his Lordship, proclaiming that he is worthy and exalting him in praise.

If Jonah can worship God during all of this, surely, we can worship God in the Midst of our situation! God does not stop being Sovereign because of your situation! He can do anything, anywhere for any one of His children! That is why you need to understand the power of your worship. It summons all of Heaven to meet you in Hell, just ask Jonah, "…I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heard my voice." (vs. 2). If Jonah Can Cry Out to God in the Midst of a Belly of Hell, Surely, We Can Walk into Our Pretty Sanctuary and Worship God? He lay in fish guts while we sit on cushioned seats, and we still cannot worship God? His music was the indigestion of a fish, while we have a whole minstrel section and yet we still cannot worship God. He was at the bottom of the ocean, and we sit elevated in our prestigious pulpit seating and yet we still cannot worship God? How is it that Jonah can give God his all right where he was, and yet we have not given God anything and we are in a better position than Jonah?!

It is easy to give up hope. I know "church folks" will tell you that it is not supposed to ever happen to a believer. But the truth is, life can get really hard, and heart breaking. It's difficult to keep praise on your lips when your coworker is cursing you out. It's hard to keep joy when you've lost loved ones back-to-back. It's not easy to keep shouting when your marriage is screaming divorce. It’s rough trying to teach Sunday school to other children when your own don't even attend. Life is not easy! No, not even for the believer. So never beat yourself up when you have a moment of lost hope, it happens to the best of us, from the pulpit to the door (whether we admit it or not)!

It is not correct to say that God spoke in the past but does not speak now. We cannot limit His Word or His discourse to any time. He is as ready today to enrich His seekers from the fountain of revelation as He was at any time, and the gates of His grace. He is the fountainhead of all excellence and combines in Himself all powers. All grace originates with Him, and everything returns to Him. He is the Master of all kingdoms and possesses every perfect quality. He is free from every defect and weakness. It belongs to Him alone that all those on earth and in heaven should worship Him.  Nothing is beyond His power. Earth and heaven, man and animals, stones and trees, souls, and bodies, have all come into existence by His grace. God is the One Who is living today as He was living before, and Who speaks today as He spoke before, and hears today as He heard before. It is a false notion that in this age. He hears but does not speak. Indeed, He both hears and speaks. All His attributes are eternal and everlasting. None of His attributes has fallen into disuse or will fall into disuse. None of His powers lack anything. He is near and yet far, and He is far and yet near.

Let Us Be Honest, How Many Of Us Fall Into Worship Mode During Struggles? The truth is, far more often, we become snappy, our attitudes get out of control, our emotions are doom and gloom, our faith falters, our countenance falls, our hope becomes helplessness, and we invite family, friends, and even foes to our self-proclaimed pity party. It is sad but true. Rarely do we immediately fall into worship when life hits us with its worst! Philippians 4:19 says He promises to meet all our needs, But He does not promise WHEN! See, most of us already know that He can do it and that He's promised to do it, but if only He'd share WHEN He's going to do it, Would the wait be easy? Not that it is one of the hardest things to do! But remembering that God watches over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12); remembering that God does not and cannot lie (Numbers 23:19); placing that God keeps His Word and every promise He makes.

During what John was surrounded by, he still fell at the Lord's feet. During what Jonah faced, he still worshiped. So, what is our excuse? Do we believe trials, troubles, struggles, and tribulations are more significant than the God we serve? If that is our belief, then I am here to tell you our broken belief system needs repairs!

Please understand that the difficult circumstances you're going through can clear your perceptions, cause you to seek God as never before, and find answers for your life to questions bombarding your sanity! "Don’t fear…” That is the beauty of being a child of the King, even when all the Kingdom of Darkness is against you! He Always Reveals Himself to the Righteous, Regardless of How Bleak Their Circumstances May Appear. The One Whom we serve is still the first and the last, which encourages us to know that no matter what transpires in the middle, God has covered it from beginning to end! And He is so awesome that He admits Himself, that He died, came back to life, and now lives forever. He is reassuring John (and us) of how powerful He is! All He desires is that we trust Him and believe Him! And then, if that weren’t enough to increase our faith, lift our heads, square off our shoulders, and straighten up our back, He goes on to say in His hand are keys, and He alone has access to open and lock death’s doors and Hell’s gates, so you’re afraid of what? Right! Absolutely Nothing! Because this is the God you serve!

I think sometimes we, unfortunately, forget the Lord’s promise to us: “…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]” (Hebrews 13:5 AMP) How do you read a promise like that and fear anything or anyone? The Lord Himself DELIBERATELY REFUSES to fail you; give you up; leave you without support and will under no circumstances leave you helpless; nor will He forsake you; let you down or relax His hold on you! You are so loved, cherished, treasured, and protected by God that He Initiated This Promise to You! You did not have to ask Him to do it, and you did not have to ask Him for it. He Chose to Give it to You Himself! So regardless of what you’re in, what you are surrounded by, what you’re going through, who you’re up against, or what you’re facing, you have full CONFIDENCE that God’s Got You COVERED!

And a bonus: You Do Not Have To Look For God In Worship; If You Worship, He Will Come Looking For You! “…true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the FATHER SEEKS.” John 4:23 (NIV).

Blessings

J.P. Olson

www.thewordwithjpolson.com