What does it mean? Jesus is the WORD.

A “word” is a written or verbal expression of an idea that creates images in the minds of those that hear it. We use words to communicate with each other and share our ideas, feelings, thoughts, and intentions. Jesus is called the living Word because He is the expression of God, the communication of His thoughts, feelings, and intentions. A perfect representation of the Father’s mind toward us. Only through eating the bread from Heaven, The Word of Life, the written word, is the image of God restored to humanity.

          We are blessed in this generation to have the written word recorded and put into many easily accessible formats. The Greek word translated as “Word” in John 1:14 is “logos.” Logos is more than just the written word. It is the divine expression of God Himself, the communication of His nature and will. Above all other things expressed by words, the truth has the creative power to change the very nature of things exposed to it.

Everything in creation is subject to the truth of God’s word, and everything in creation must eventually align with that word or bow to it. We have yet to grasp the reality of just how powerful and significant the written word is.

          The Word was spoken, (Rhema) so it could be written. (Logos) I was written so it could be continually spoken.

          Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. The written word expresses God’s nature, will, thoughts, and desires for humanity. As our Creator, we should be very concerned about learning what He wants and how He thinks. We should hunger and thirst for ways to please Him.

The written word is here to test us, just like the manna from Heaven tested Israel to see if they would walk in obedience. God sees how much we love and respect His written word and how important His thoughts and desires are to us. Our relationship and perspective on the written word reveal how much we love and believe in Him. They are the same. Our love for God will never rise above our love for the Bible and all its precious treasures. It is the only book that is truly alive!

Hebrews 4:12(NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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Are You Inviting Demonic Activity?

When our heart is wounded, hardened, jealous, bitter, resentful, or self-seeking, we become not only prey for the enemy but also a weapon he can use to hurt others. James 3 tells us how serious this is.

James 3:13-17 (ESV) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

When selfishness, bitterness, and jealousy enter our hearts, they will come out in our words and actions. When that happens, we become a magnet for mayhem, a landing strip for demonic activity. We don’t just open the door to demonic influence; we send out invitations and serve up their favorite meals.

Guarding our mouths is a huge part of protecting our hearts. Words have creative or destructive power. Words can minister grace, peace, and life, or they can minister death and invite demonic activity. When we give voice to thoughts that the enemy is whispering in our minds, we take that evil seed and plant it in our hearts while exposing our weakness to the enemy.

The entire Bible is replete with passages warning us and encouraging us about the power of our words. Here are just a few.

Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Whatever we give ourselves to talking about, we will eat the fruit of it.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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Spiritual Warfare #4 ~ Guarding Our Heart

          In spiritual warfare, the enemy attacks us in our minds to gain entrance to our hearts. It is the heart he wants to corrupt because from our heart spring forth the life of God.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life.

          Satan will bombard our minds with negative thoughts and carnal ideas to stir our emotions to the point of reaction. Make no mistake, emotional warfare is spiritual warfare. Thoughts are spiritual. Words are spiritual. His plan is to pressures us with thoughts to the point of reacting with our words. It is our own words that plant his corrupt seeds in our hearts and the hearts of others.

          Our words tell him where we are weak, where to focus his attacks, and whom he may devour. As the devil roars in our minds like a lion, he is seeking whom he may devour. He is looking for those that open their mouth to plant his seed. Once he gets seed into our hearts, he waters that seed with more thoughts until it produces the fruit of more words and actions. It is a devious, and highly effective plan.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober minded, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

          How do we guard our hearts and minds from his relentless attacks on our minds an emotions? Philippians holds the key.

Philippians 4:6-9 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

          Being prayerful and thankful defends us against these attacks, but that is not enough. We must choose what we think about. If we do not take negative thoughts captive and bring them into obedience to our revelation of Jesus Christ, Satan will take us captive.

          When the enemy is roaring the loudest, we must force ourselves to think on things that are pure, praiseworthy, positive and life giving, and give voice to those thoughts. This is the practice of “taking every thought captive to obey Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 

          When we practice this, we have a promise that God will be present with us to guard our hearts and minds with His peace.

          It is interesting that the part of God’s armor that protects our hearts is worn on our feet.

Ephesians 6:15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

          I asked the Lord years ago, “why is peace on our feet?” He then asked me a question. “Why do you put shoes on Jack?” I said, “to protect my feet.” The Lord said, “peace is to protect your walk.”

          One of the main things the army teaches you in boot camp is that you must be diligent to protect your feet. If your feet are not in good shape, your ability to fight is limited, your mobility is compromised, your effectiveness is limited, and often you require help from other soldiers to transport you and protect you, taking them away from their assignment.

          It is much worse in spiritual warfare. When our heart is wounded, hardened, jealous, bitter, resentful, or self-seeking. We not only become prey for the enemy, but a weapon he can use to hurt others. James 3 tells us how serious this is.

James 3:13-17 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

          When selfishness, bitterness, and jealousy gain entrance to our hearts, it will come out in our words and actions. When that happens, we become a landing strip for demonic activity.

          Guarding our mouth is a huge part of guarding our hearts. Words have creative or destructive power. Words can minister grace, peace and life, or they can minister death and invite demonic activity. When we give voice to thoughts that the enemy is attacking our minds with, we take that evil seed and plant it in our hearts.

          The entire Bible is replete with passages warning us and encouraging us about the power of our words. Here are just a few.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

          Whatever we give ourselves to talking about, we will eat the fruit of.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

          We can minister God’s grace with our words.

Matthew 12:37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Proverbs 13:3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

          If we don’t take thoughts captive, we won’t be able to keep a bridle on our tongues, and we deceive our own hearts. It does not say “the devil deceived our hearts.” WE are responsible for the deception we are in if we don’t keep a reign on our tongue. This is the devil’s ultimate goal, to get us to willingly use our own words to bring about the corruption and defilement of our own hearts. When this happens, our religion is worthless.

Matthew 15:16-20 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? ¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

          Words are what defiles us and words come from the heart. Our hearts must be protected at all costs. We must be prayerful, thankful, peaceful, and careful with words. If our heart is at peace, we can easily fend off the enemy’s demonic attacks against our minds.

“Words are seeds that do more than blow around.

They land in our hearts and not on the ground.

Be careful what you plant and be careful what you say.

You might have to eat what you planted one day.” -Unknown

For more lessons on Spiritual Warfare CLICK HERE.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC

How to Deliver Truth

Love is the license to speak truth

            Sharing the truth of God’s word is an important part of the Christian life. At some point in our lives we responded to truth and made a decision to follow Christ. Now we have a responsibility to share that truth with others so they will have the same opportunity that we had. With that new responsibility we should keep in mind the manner in which we deliver that truth.

           Truth is received in the manner it is delivered. The Word of God is truth. It is also a sword, a double edged one at that. Truth should never be delivered with the intention of “straightening someone out,” or “correcting someone.” Scripture is profitable if it is delivered with the right heart. If it is delivered with wrong motives it can actually drive people away from God instead of drawing them to Him. This is a real problem in our generation.

Grace and truth came thru Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Delivering truth without grace is what Satan does when he comes as an angel of light, so let us not partner with him.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

          This passage is repeatedly misused to justify Bible bashing, finger pointing, and a judgmental approach to correcting people in the name of God. A self-righteous assault on people is a reproach on Christ and opens one up to the influence of religious spirits. Not to mention hurting the one we are supposed to be helping.

          Notice that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God.” God is love according to 1 John 4:8. 

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

          Therefore, all scripture is given by the inspiration of Love. When the Word of Truth is shared it should be inspired by Love.

          If the delivery of truth isn’t inspired by Love it is NOT profitable for doctrine, it will NOT reprove, it will NOT correct, it will NOT instruct, it will NOT complete, and it will NOT equip. It just cuts, and it cuts deep. Love is the license to speak truth. If we don’t have genuine love and compassion in our hearts toward the ones we are speaking to, we have lost our license to speak on God’s behalf.

            I really love a perfectly cooked rib-eye steak. It may be my favorite food in the world, but if it is served to me wrapped in a dirty diaper I am not going to eat it. It’s the same with delivering truth. The word of God is so powerful it can change a life, but it must be palatable, seasoned with salt, full of grace, and delivered in sincere love for it to be received.

          If we are not imparting God’s grace, communicating God’s heart, and being a vessel of God’s love, we should remain silent. If we can’t correct that on the spot, we may need to stop and reschedule the conversation for another time, giving us time to pray or seek council from another leader.

“Don’t be pressured into speaking when you know your heart isn’t right.”

            There is a simple rule that will keep us from a myriad of problems if we apply it.

“When we speak, lets be sure it’s an Improvement on silence.”

            Following this rule does a few things,

• It slows down the conversation and keeps us mindful of the power and purpose of our words.
• It diffuses conflict that arises from elevated emotions.
• It teaches us the value and power of silence.
• It gives us greater control over ourselves and the entire situation.
• It allows us time to hear from our heart what the Holy Spirit is saying in the situation.

            Personally, I believe this is what was happening in John 8:1-11 when Jesus was writing in the sand with His finger while everyone pressed Him for an answer to judge the woman caught in adultery. 

            Not being willing to speak until He heard from the Father is a lesson we all should take to heart. There are few worse feelings than knowing we have hurt one of God’s children with our words.

            As disciples of Christ, we should think before we speak, selecting words that nurture and build up rather than tear down and destroy. When faced with hostility we speak gently to diffuse anger and emotions rather than feed them. When faced with uncertainty, we are slow to speak, letting silence do the heavy lifting while God speaks to us.

To really deliver truth that is living seed, we must give our hearts time to tell our mouth what to say.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC

The Fight for Your Identity

What kind of tree am I anyway?

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

          This is an amazing formula for faith, and a great example of the faith principle in Romans 4 of “calling things that are not as though they were.”

Romans 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

          The quotation in Romans 4:17 refers to Genesis 17:5. God spoke this over Abram when He was 99 years old and childless. At the same time God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and changed Sarai’s name to Sarah. In changing the names, God forced them to say the same thing about themselves that He had just said about them. Abraham means, (“Father of a multitude,” Sarah means, “Mother of nations.”) In the name change, God was showing Abraham and all who would follow after him, the principle of faith that God Himself operates by. He speaks things into existence.

          Let’s apply this to the good and bad tree.

          If you see a tree that has apples and avocados growing on it, what would you call it? An apple tree? An avocado tree? A hybrid? Would you just make up a name? The truth is, you wouldn’t know what to call it.

         The Bible says in Isaiah 61:3 that we are “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.”

          When we look at ourselves and behold the fruit of our lives, we see our mistakes, our bad habits, our inconsistencies, our failures, our secret sins, and we think “I must be a bad tree.” But then we look closer and say, “Wait a minute, not all the fruit in my life is bad. I help people, I am faithful to my church family, I serve in different areas in the ministry, I love people, I am generous with my time and resources, so not all the fruit in my life is bad. I am confused! What kind of tree am I?”

          We see the good and bad fruit in our lives and gravitate towards walking by sight and living by feelings. The Bible says that we are NOT to live our lives this way.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

          We cannot allow our physical senses to dictate our identity. We must set ourselves in agreement with what God has spoken about us and not be moved by our feelings and our fallen experience. What we see, feel and experience must never be a consideration in light of what God has said about us. Abraham, the father of faith, has set the example for us.

Romans 4:19-22 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. ²² And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

          Abraham refused to consider the weakness in his flesh, but was fully convinced that what God said about him, God would bring to pass.

          So the question is: What has God said about us?

Romans 5:17  For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Colossians 1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled ²² in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

          God says that He has made us righteous, holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight. Although we may not look like that in our sight we must not consider what we see and believe what He said about us is true.

          How we refer to ourselves, the words we say about ourselves should align in agreement with what God says about us. When we begin to speak what God says about us, the grace of God is released in our lives to transform us into what He has spoken. When we align our words with His words, the fruit of what He said will start growing in our life. This is how we make our tree good. This is how we fight the good fight of faith. This is what produces transformation in our life.

          The Old Testament is full of stories about natural battles. We must look at those physical battles and learn how to apply them spiritually to our lives. For the most part, we see two ways that God calls his people to battle.

1. He gives His people specific instruction on what, when and how to conquer the enemy. When Gods people follow the instruction, He is with them in battle and the victory comes easy.
2. He tells His people to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. He fights the battle for us and the victory is ours.

         When fighting to be free from our sin nature, to live righteous and holy, we tend to try and do this by our own works. We struggle against our sin, our bad habits, wrong thinking and destructive cycles of failure and disappointment. This type of behavior will only produce a sin consciousness that insures failure. The Old Testament has already proved that no one can become righteous by works.

          Submitting to the authority of the Holy Spirit on the inside of us places us in a powerful position to be transformed and overcome the sin nature. We must call ourselves righteous and holy, believing that He is at work in us to bring that to pass. We follow Abraham’s example and call things that are not manifest as though they were.

           Confess that you are righteous, confess that you are holy. Thank God for freeing you from sin and transforming you into His image. And if you stumble and fall, run to God and say “I am sorry Father that is not me! That is certainly not You in me! I thank You for the Spirit of grace that is transforming me and shaping me into Your image, removing that junk from my life and molding me into everything You have created me to be. Thank You for fathering me! Thank you for loving me, for believing in me, for being patient with me. Thank you for completing the work that you began in me. Where would I be if You didn’t father me.”   

          This is a good example of biblical confession. This type of confession sets you in agreement with His work and His plan for your life. This will produce the fruit of righteousness and holiness in your life.

          In the battle for our identity we are supposed to follow the example of our father Abraham and set ourselves in agreement with His word, letting the Spirit of grace shape us and mold us into His image. We are not to consider the weakness of our flesh, but stand strong in faith, trusting that God is able to bring His word to pass in our lives.

So hold fast to the confession of who you are in Him and trust that He will complete the work that he began in your life.

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.