April 2010

Dear friend in Christ,

2 Corinthians 4:3-4, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe NOT, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (KJV)

Satan is an imposter! The dictionary defines an imposter as "one who assumes an identity or title that is not his own for the purpose of deception." Satan is the Arch Deceiver, and Jesus described his true character and nature when He called him, "the father of lies..." in John 8:44, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies." And the scripture in
2 Corinthians 4 tells us very clearly that as the god of this world, he has blinded the minds of those who don't believe the Word. Satan uses deception to defeat Christians and pervert the Truth, and the weapon he uses against the children of God is the very weapon the Father has given to us to defeat Satan! He uses the Word of God.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan used the Word against Eve. He deceived her into thinking that God's Word was a lie and caused her to doubt what God had spoken to them. But you and I have the Holy Spirit living in our spirit man; the Spirit of Truth Who leads and guides us into all truth and leads us in paths of righteousness. We are told to transform our minds by the renewing of our mind with the Word of God so that "we can prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God."(Romans 12:2)

This scripture in 2 Corinthians 4:3 calls Satan the god of this world. Not because he is a god, but because people follow him like he is. He wants to keep us in the dark, and gross darkness covers the earth where the things of God are concerned. The people in the world cannot receive the things of the Spirit because the Bible tells that they are "spiritually" discerned and hidden to "natural man".

Friend, you cannot be in faith and be depressed at the same time. It is impossible. When you are IN faith, you're not looking at the circumstances around you that will depress you. With faith, you are able to look at the eternal realm. Jesus told us that "all things are possible to them that believe." But faith does not ignore the problem or pretend that it doesn't exist. Faith recognizes the problem and then presents it to God, acknowledging Him in the face of the circumstance and then declaring that His Word and His Truth and His promises are greater than any circumstance.

Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see, and the conviction of their reality (faith perceiving as REAL fact what is not revealed to the senses)." (AMP) This tells us that faith is the "title deed" of what we have asked for. In other words, we are holding onto "nothing" until the manifestation takes place, with the "guarantee" that we already have it.

Proverbs 3:5-6, "Lean not to your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." In other words, we are to put our trust and our confidence in God, and not in our own ability and natural strength. Jesus has already paid the price in full for everything you need. All you have to do is get the Word down in your spirit man, in abundance, and then begin to confess that Word out of your mouth. We don't have to talk Jesus into doing anything else! The answer to all of our needs is having the Word of God in our heart and in our mouth, and take for our self what He has already provided. But it has to be more than just speaking words; it has to be a living reality in your life.

Faith has to be in two places; it has to be in your mouth and in your heart according to Romans chapter 10:8, "But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart; that is, the Word of Faith, which we preach.", and in Deuteronomy 30:14, "But the Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." (KJV) And if you were to read both scriptures in detail you would find they go on to say that the Word, which is Christ, is not far off. It (He) is not in heaven nor is it (He) in the abyss (sea), but it (He) is very near you...in your mouth, and in your heart.

That means that everyone can take the Word of God and receive whatever they need. God has already established it and agreed to it. And that means we don't have to talk God into doing anything for us if we can find it in His Word. So, why would anyone do without? Only because they're lazy! Only because they couldn't be persuaded to believe what God has promised. Having an unteachable spirit is the same as walking in unbelief and doubt; it's also the same as walking in stubbornness and pride, arrogance, and rebellion. And those things, the Bible tells us are like "unto witchcraft." As a born again Christian, the only reason to do without in any area of life is because we refuse to honor God and trust His Word, because His Word will produce in our life anything He tells us.

Under the Old Covenant, God required 100 percent obedience, and he gave Israel a choice to obey Him and reap His blessing, or to walk in disobedience and reap the curses. But the enemy has deceived Christians into thinking that God no longer requires the same obedience. DO NOT BE DECEIVED! God has never changed! Without obedience to God, there can be no covenant relationship with Him. Disobedience breaks our fellowship with God. Jesus said, "If you abide in My Word, and hold fast to My teachings, and live in accordance with them, you are truly My disciples." (TAB John 8:31)

You act on what Jesus told us and you keep putting the Word down in your heart until it's in there in abundance. Make deposits of the Word until it's in there more than anything else, and when it becomes abundant, that's when it will come out of your mouth; it is the overflow of what you have deposited.

Love,

Paula

January 2010

Dear friend in Christ,

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

A few days ago the Spirit of the Lord began to speak to my heart very clearly about the goodness of God, even in the midst of tribulation and trouble. He is always there, and you can trust Him with your life. We're living in an hour that the Bible describes as "perilous times". 2Timothy 3:1, "But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come..." The Strong's concordance describes "perilous" as: harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, and hard to deal with. And I believe that most of us can agree that this certainly describes the economy and the moral status of the entire world. We hear about wars and rumors of wars, and nations rising up against nations, and about great famines, pestilence and earthquakes happening all over the world.

Matthew 24:6-7 tells us, "And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you NOT be troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines and pestilence, and earthquakes in divers places." Just look at how the earthquake in Haiti has caused such a tremendous crisis and time of grief in the lives of all those precious people.

So many people are facing times of trouble in their personal lives. But God is still on His Throne and He has promised that He will never leave you nor forsake you. He told us in the Book of Matthew "not to worry about tomorrow... sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Time after time, the Bible talks about God's goodness, and Psalm 145:9 sums it up this way: "The Lord is GOOD to all." Now, you might think, "I've always heard this." Many people believe that God is good, but head knowledge alone doesn't affect their daily lives. It takes more than just knowing His Word to change the circumstances in your life. It takes a revelation from the Word of God. Revelation is a truth that becomes so real to you as the Holy Spirit shines light on His Word, that it becomes a part of your personal life. It's not something you hear and forget. It's something that you act on, and it's that knowledge that is acted on that brings results.

Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 6 NOT to worry. One of Satan's greatest weapons is to bring worry to our minds. Both real and imagined worries attack our minds daily as the pressures and the stresses of these end times press in from every side in an attempt to discourage and defeat us. But Jesus commands us to put aside worry. He pleads with us to see that our Father has faithfully provided for all of our needs. And He assures us that our Heavenly Father KNOWS what we need even before we ask, so there is no reason for us to worry.

2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us: "Cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." That means we are to take those thoughts that come into our heads and line them up with the Word of God. Do those thoughts agree with what God has to say about whatever it is you are dealing with? If not, cast them down! I'd like to tell you that this is easy, but it's not. In this busy world it's easier to get our priorities out of order. We can become so caught up in the cares of daily life that we don't make time for God and His Kingdom. And as a result, the Word gets choked out by the cares and the distractions, and what Jesus called "thorns".

In Mark chapter 4:18-19, Jesus talks about the thorns choking out the Word. And among other things, "the cares and anxieties of the world...creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless."

It's easy to yield to worry. And that spirit of worry and fear can literally take over your life and stop the Word of God from producing any fruit. So don't feed on it. Worry is just meditating on the lies of the devil, or on the circumstances that you are facing in your own life.

So, how do you stop? You replace worry with faith in what the Word of God tells you. Run to the Word and feed on it day and night. Find scriptures that apply to you situation and keep them in front of your eyes; keep them going into your ear and your mouth until that truth gets into your heart. In other words, meditate on the Word of God. That's exactly what God told Joshua to do in Joshua 1:8, "...but you shall meditate therein day and night that you may observe to do according to ALL that is written therein; for THEN you shall make your way prosperous, and THEN you shall have good success."

Meditating on His Word is fixing your mind on what God has to say, and you will gain revelation and insight into His ways and the Holy Spirit will make it a reality in your heart. Carefully ponder how the Word of God applies to your own life and change your situation. You are placing yourself in agreement with what God has to say about you; seeing yourself as He sees you, and most importantly, you will then be seeking His Kingdom, instead of giving way to worry.

The revelation of God's goodness will help you receive from Him whatever you need. Perhaps you have not yet taken the first step of your journey of faith because you've never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Maybe you've heard about Him, an you might even believe the things that you've heard as truth. If so, you are not alone. Many people, even good churchgoing people are in the same condition right now. They know ABOUT Him, but they don't have a living relationship with Him.

If you don't know the Lord as your personal Savior, or you would like to have a deeper relationship with the Father, you can contact me through this blog and I will write you back and pray with you.

love,

Paula