Traumatic experiences that threaten to
overwhelm us are fertile soil for the devil's deceit. We find our self in the
midst of spiritual warfare, bewildered and clueless on what to do to free our
self.
Our thoughts set themselves up against what
we know about God (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Satan enslaves us with His lies. They
become his stronghold in our life and they keep us a captive to him.
He uses each lie to build an entire fortress
of deception in our mind. He knows that if he controls our thoughts, he also
controls our emotions and choices.
His lies use words such as: You are not
enough, You are damaged, You are unlovable, You are too stupid to amount to
anything, You will always be fat and ugly and no one will want you, You cannot
get a job because you are untalented, etc.
These lies spawn ungodly addictions to help
us hide from what we consider the truth. Addictions are actually
self-defeating, grieve God's Holy Spirit, and prevent us from walking in
God's will for us. These unholy habits also provide a vulnerable place in our
soul for Satan to take up residence.
We overcome the devil's lies by taking
control of our imagination. We tear down the strongholds one by one by surrendering
our ungodly thoughts, emotions, words and deeds to the power of God. We reject
Satan's lies for what they are, and replace it with God's Truth.
Christ already freed us from bondage to
Satan's lies (Romans 16:20; Hebrews 2:14). We take captive these wayward
thoughts and replace them with God's truth about who we are in Christ
(Colossians 2:10). As we draw near to God, we resist Satan and he has to flee
from us (James 4:7-8).
Prayer:
Father God, thank You that Jesus shines Your
light on the deception with which Satan keeps us in his bondage. As we obey
Your Spirit each moment of the day, He reveals to us the lies we cling to, and
enables us to relinquish them to Your truth. Our habitual sins no longer appear
palatable to us, and we reject them right away.
Help us to see that every self-defeating
thought, word and deed keeps us in bondage to the devil; but as we totally
surrender to Your Truth of who we are in Christ, we are set free. Give us the
wisdom to view negative thoughts and emotions as red flags that signal Satan's
attempts to enslave us; then, provide us with the strength to reject future
lies.
Thought for the Day:
The Lord is our true refuge when we feel
oppressed, shamed by our past, and unsure of our future; He walks with us
during every single obstacle that we face, as well as all of the times of
trouble that we encounter.
- Psalm 9:9
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Borrowed from the Internet -
Who We Are in Christ:
· The light of God’s
truth has shone in my heart and given me knowledge of salvation through Christ
(2 Corinthians 4:6).
· I have been rescued
from the domain and the power of darkness and brought into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
· I am complete in Him
who is the head over all rule and authority—of every angelic and earthly power
(Colossians 2:10).
· I am alive with
Christ (Ephesians 2:5).
· I am free from the
law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
· I am far from
oppression, and will not live in fear (Isaiah 54:14).
· I am born of God, and
the evil one does not touch me (1 John 5:18).
· I am holy and without
blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16).
· The Spirit of God,
who is greater than the enemy in the world, lives in me (1 John 4:4).
· I have received the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my heart
enlightened, so that I know the hope of having life in Christ (Ephesians
1:17-18).
· I have received the
power of the Holy Spirit and He can do miraculous things through me. I have
authority and power over the enemy in this world (Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:17-19).
· I am God’s
workmanship, created in Christ to do good works that He has prepared for me to
do (Ephesians 2:10).
· I am a new creation
in Christ (2 Corinthians
5:17).
· In Christ, I am dead
to sin—my relationship to it is broken—and alive to God—living in unbroken
fellowship with Him (Romans 6:11).
· I am a joint-heir
with Christ (Romans 8:17).
I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me (Romans 8:37).
· I overcome the enemy
of my soul by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation
12:11).
· I have everything I
need to live a godly life and am equipped to live in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).
· My body is a temple
of the Holy Spirit; I belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19).
· I am renewed in the
knowledge of God and no longer want to live in my old ways or nature before I
accepted Christ (Colossians
3:9-10).
· In all circumstances
I live by faith in God and extinguish all the flaming darts (attacks) of the
enemy (Ephesians 6:16).
· I can do whatever I
need to do in God's will, through Christ Jesus who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).
· I am born
again—spiritually transformed, renewed and set apart for God’s purpose—through
the living and everlasting word of God (1 Peter 1:23).
· I am
redeemed—forgiven of all my sins and made clean—through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7).
· I am called to live a
holy life by the grace of God and to declare His praise in the world (Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9).
· I am healed and whole
in Jesus (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).
· I am not ruled by
fear because the Holy Spirit lives in me and gives me His power, love and
self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).
· I am saved by God’s
grace, raised up with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:5-6; Colossians 2:12).
· I am greatly loved by
God (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians
1:4).
· I am strengthened
with all power according to His glorious might (Colossians 1:11).
· I press on each day
to fulfill God’s plan for my life because I live to please Him (Philippians 3:14).
· Christ lives in me,
and I live by faith in Him and His love for me (Galatians 2:20).
