I’ve learned this about obeying God:  You do what’s right even when you don’t feel like it.

You keep standing when you want to sit.

You keep fighting when you feel like surrendering.

You go by what you know, not what you feel.

You walk by faith and not by sight.

You trust God when your emotions lie to you and tell you that He’s the one to blame.

You hang onto Him even when you feel like letting go.

You believe what He says when you have zero evidence backing it up.

Tags: Bible, fighting, giving up, God, God's Word, letting go, obey God, surrendering

I have greater faith than I’ve ever had in my life.  If sickness tries to come on me, I no longer have to wonder whether or not God wants to or is able to heal me.  And I don’t let symptoms run their course for a few weeks before finally buckling down and receiving healing.  I believe and know it’s God’s will to heal me.  And if something contrary rises up, I’m quick to bat it away.  But this wasn’t always the case.

Tags: choose life, double-standards, Faith, freedom, God's Word, terminal cancer, testimonies, testimonies of healing, truth

I heard a story about a guest teacher at a Bible school.  The guest teacher had come to teach on healing.  Various teachers and students had stopped him throughout his lesson with comments like: “Well, we don’t really believe in that healing stuff.”  He dug deeper in the Word and read even more scriptures about healing.  More students stopped him.  “We just don’t believe in that stuff,” they’d say.  The guest teacher paused and lifted the page of scripture he was reading from and ripped it out of the Bible, “Well then I guess we better get rid of this page.”  He went on and on, ripping out more pages about healing and other topics they disagreed with.  By the time he was done, the Bible was nothing more than a thin little book.  “Here’s your Bible,” he said.  Then he left.

Tags: authority, freedom, God's Word, healing, truth, Victory

Last night I watched the Bourne Ultimatum.  It wasn’t the first time I saw it, but every time I watch it, this thought goes through my mind: “This guy is unreal.  He cannot be beat.”  And then, as is my custom with most war/action movies, I started trying to equate it to spiritual terms.  And man, this one was a cinch.  It only took me a few seconds to think of the spiritual significance of it.

Tags: Battles, Bourne, Bourne Ultimatum, defeat, fighting, God's Word, Jason Bourne, satan, spiritual warfare, Victory

Something is shifting.  Something has shifted.

For me, this is hard.  I’m honestly not ready for Jesus to come back.  I mean, from a spiritual standpoint, yes, I’m ready.  But I have so much in my heart that I’m longing to see and do.  Living to be 100 years old wouldn’t even be long enough.  I’m not one of these people that is white-knuckling it, hoping that Jesus will hurry up and come back so that all my problems will be solved.  I don’t have problems. I live the Word of God and I defeat satan on a daily basis.  I don’t wish and hope and pray for victory.  I have victory.  If satan creeps in with depression or sickness or poverty, I cut him to pieces with the Sword of the Spirit of the Word of God.  Through Christ, I always triumph.

Tags: Christians, End Times, get ready, God, God's Word, Jesus, Revelation, the end, the end is near, The Sword, truth

So much of religion is guilt- and shame-based.  And somehow, in reacting to error, an entire movement has cropped up to try to validate people’s emotions — to let them know that they’re ok and that they’re understood and that it’s ok to feel a certain way.  And of course there’s nothing wrong with being understood and being validated.  But first of all, Christianity has nothing to do with religion.  Religion may be guilt- and shame-based, but Christianity came to set us free from that.  So why then do we fall into this trap that says that the best way we can help wounded people is to validate them emotionally?  Did Jesus Christ come to pat the old man on the back and say “You’re ok.  It’s ok that you feel that way.”?  Or did He come to crucify (put to death) the old man and make us new creations in Him?

Tags: Bible, emotional validation, emotions, feelings, God's Word, truth

You know why that story I shared yesterday is so huge for me?  It’s huge for me because for most of my life, I was living under this old religious lie that says: Whatever happens, happens.  And the best thing you do, as a Christian, is just keep a good attitude.  I lived under the lie that to be a Christian means you’ll have some pitiful, defeated life.  I learned that living by my emotions is ok.  And at the end of all these un-Biblical, un-Godly beliefs, they’d tack on this: But don’t worry, God’s grace is sufficient for you.  And His grace was sufficient for me, but you know what?  I still lived a defeated life as satan’s doormat.  Once I discovered what God’s Word really said and stopped listening to the doctrine of people’s experiences, I got angry.  And that anger hasn’t left.  Now I’m not talking about the sort of anger that’s based in rage and fear — I’m talking about a righteous anger towards satan and towards those religious lies that kept me in bondage for years.

Tags: God's Word, healing, relentless, Sickness, Sword, truth, Victory

I want to tell you a story about what happened to me last night.  I know a lot of the stuff I write on here about God’s Word and believing it and living it might seem like “a lot to ask for” to some people.  “Do you mean we’re actually supposed to live like that?” you might think.  But I can honestly say that about 99% of what I write on here comes from my own life.  And unless I can live it in my own life, I don’t think I have any business telling you to.

Tags: dizziness, God, God's Word, relentless, Sickness, truth

There are two foxes that have taken up residence in my neighborhood.  It’s an odd sight to see this bushy black fox walking up the sidewalk when I look out my bedroom window or crossing the street as I pull out of the driveway.  Especially since I don’t exactly live in the country.  I live in the suburbs.  I live around a lot of houses and people.  And this means that the sort of animals these foxes prey on are simply not around, leaving them no choice but to go after cats and small dogs.

Tags: attacker, backbone, fox, God's Word, subtle lies, Sword

The Word of God works.  Every single time it works.  Stand on it.  Wrap your arms around it.  Grip it with your hands.  NEVER let it go.

Don’t live your life by popular opinion.  Don’t live it to make people applaud you.  Don’t let your emotions rule your life.

Now’s not the time to go back to the play-pen and put back on your diaper.  Now is the time to stand up and hold fast.  Don’t revert to old ways.  Don’t go around the same mountain 20 more times.  Don’t go around it ONE more time.  Get up.  Do what it takes.  Stop waiting for the right decision to feel good or natural.  It might hurt a little.  Do it anyway.

Tags: battle, fight, God's Word, stand, take back ground