May 2010

Dear friend in Christ,

Praise the Lord! This IS the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! I am so thankful that we have been set free by the Blood of the Lamb, and that we have freedom in this nation! Sometimes we take our freedom for granted. Our freedom both in the natural realm, and our freedom in the spiritual realm. This Monday, May 31, we will be celebrating Memorial Day. There will be parades and picnics; people will visit the cemeteries and memorials, and there will be a national moment of "remembrance" that takes place. Our flag will fly at half-staff from dawn until noon.

My dad was in the United States Army and served our country in World War II, and my own husband served in the United States Air Force for 26 years! So I know what it's like to have a military background and I am truly proud to be an American and to enjoy the freedom we have because of the men and women who serve to protect this country!

Something the Father wants us to realize is that we are all faced with times of battle in our own lives. So many people today are caught up in the struggle of simply trying to survive all of the obstacles and opposition that life brings them. But we were never designed by God to be defeated. God's original design for all of us was to be victorious and to triumph and live above those things. The Word tells us in 1 John 1:5 that we are over comers. In fact, it says, "And this is the victory that overcomes the world...even our faith."

The most important battles that you and I face everyday are the spiritual battles. The battle to escape our sinful nature; the battle to triumph over Satan; the battle to enter into that place of victory and rest that God has designed for all of us. But we can't win these battles on our own.

Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus won the victory FOR us so we can live in that victory today. He completely defeated Satan and delivered us out of the dominion of darkness. 2 Corinthians 2:14 boldly declares that God always leads his people in victory! He has a plan for each of us to have victory over every challenge and pressure that we will ever face.

God has placed His very Own Spirit within us, and He has given us the POWER to walk in obedience and keep His commandments. As we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and we are controlled and guided BY Him, we are then able to obey God and His Word and we will walk in that overcoming power.

But knowing the location of the real battle we face with the enemy is vitally important. We have to realize that the greatest battlefield we have is in our mind. The war is either won or lost in our mind! There's really only one place that Satan can attack people, whether they are Christians or have never accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and that one place is the battlefield of their mind.

In the Book of Ephesians chapter 6, and beginning with verse 10 through 17, we find the powerful weapons that God fashioned for you and I to wear, that will not only protect us from the enemy, but they will also enable us to be perfected and fully equipped to serve God. And as we look closely at each piece of this Armor, we can see that each one describes the attributes of Christ.

1. The "girdle of truth"; Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..."
2. The "breastplate of righteousness", Jesus IS righteous; He has become our righteousness.
3. The "preparation of the Gospel of peace"; Jesus ushered in the Kingdom by preaching the
Gospel.
4. The "shield of faith"; He is the author and finisher of our faith.
5. The "helmet of salvation"; as the promised Messiah, He HAS on the helmet of salvation.
6. The "Sword of the Spirit"; the Word of God IS Jesus; He is the Living Word of God. And
He IS that two-edged sword when we speak His Word out of our own mouth in faith.

We cannot depend on our own strength and our own intellect. God never intended for you and I to face those problems and pressures in our own limited understanding and strength. He planned and purposed for you and I to face everything in His unlimited and unsurpassed power. We have everything we need to win this war! We are fighting a defeated foe and we have the full armor of God, which includes the Word, which is the Sword of the Spirit. We have the mighty name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit Who lives inside of us to operate that "dunamis" power through us as we allow Him to work.

As that end time spiritual warrior, you have to pick up that sword and allow the Holy Spirit to cut away all of the sin and the dead works in your own life, and begin to cut to shreds everything the enemy tries to use against you. Begin to walk in the demonstration of the power you know you have over sin, the flesh, and the devil! By faith you have an everlasting Covenant with God, and He has sealed that Covenant with an oath! He promised us in Psalm 89:34, "My Covenant will I not break..." And, He has given us the Guarantee that He will do absolutely everything that He promised to do in us and for us. Jesus Christ has become the "surety" of a better Covenant. He stands as a surety for God, that He will do all that He promised in the Covenant. And He stands as a surety for us with God that we will keep our Covenant with Him.

I pray God's blessing upon your lives and all that you put your hands to.

Love,

Paula