IT'S ALL SPIRITUAL!
are you feeling irritated? it's a spirit of irritation trying to attach itself to you.
are you feeling hopeless about any area in your life? it's the enemy lying to you.
are you feeling scared? God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.
we've got to figure out that everything is spiritual. we know the plans that God has for us: plans to prosper us and not to harm us; to give us a hope and a future. anything that doesn't line up with those plans is from the enemy.
ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T LINE UP WITH THE WILL OF GOD IS FROM THE enemy.
here's the analogy that i felt like the Lord gave me yesterday: pick a sport you're familiar with, for me it was football. the offense comes to the line of scrimmage and the quarterback surveys the defense. he looks at what personnel they have on the field and where guys are lined up. he knows because of experience what they are likely to do based on personnel and alignment. he then can change the play based on the strategy of the defense (enemy) to his advantage. i purposely used us as the offense because we're supposed to be on offense but if you want to switch it up it works the same way: if the defense knows the plays that the offense is going to run, the offense will not have a very good day.
here's the great thing: we know the strategies of the enemy! we just have to be able to recognize them in the moment. like i said above: if you're feeling fearful = strategy of the enemy; worried = strategy of the enemy; helpless/hopeless = strategy of the enemy; prideful = strategy of the enemy. NOT FROM GOD = FROM THE ENEMY
teams always spend time watching film of themselves and their opponents in order to prepare for their next game. here's my encouragement/challenge for today: ask the Holy Spirit to guide you back over the "film" of your life. ask Him to reveal the spots where you've encountered great victory or where you've been defeated and show you the strategy of the enemy and how you overcame it or what to look for so you won't be overcome again. the devil will use whatever works to jack you up. if it's the same thing that has always worked, he'll keep using it until it doesn't work anymore.
through the power of the Holy Spirit (the same power that conquered the grave) let's recognize the strategies and defeat the enemy. 1 john 3:8 says: for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Jesus is our model - everything He did, we can do and how He lived [fully filled] is our goal: therefore we are to destroy the works of the devil. what are the works of the devil? anything contrary to the will of God.
peace.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
FORGOT ONE THING ON THAT LAST POST
i read this somewhere the other day and it was totally encouraging. it has to do with speaking truth over our lives even when our circumstances do not line up with what we're saying and believing.
just because an apple tree doesn't have fruit or leaves on it in the middle of winter, it doesn't cease to be an apple tree.
so today wherever you're at, i just want to encourage you that just because your circumstances may tell you the opposite it doesn't change the truth of God. here's a couple of examples:
lie = your prayers aren't being answered
truth = your prayers are powerful and effective
2 cor 5:21 says that Jesus became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus: therefore YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS!
james 5:16 says that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much: therefore, YOUR PRAYERS AVAIL MUCH (avail - to be of use or value; profit; advantage; have force)
lie = i don't have enough money to pay my bills
truth = God richly supplies all of your financial needs
phil. 4:19 - and my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
if you need some more examples, let me know...i could go on all day!
DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES OF THE ENEMY! he wants to steal from you; to kill you; and destroy you.
LISTEN AND RESPOND TO JESUS!!!!!!!!!!! HE came to give you life and life more abundantly!
just because an apple tree doesn't have fruit or leaves on it in the middle of winter, it doesn't cease to be an apple tree.
so today wherever you're at, i just want to encourage you that just because your circumstances may tell you the opposite it doesn't change the truth of God. here's a couple of examples:
lie = your prayers aren't being answered
truth = your prayers are powerful and effective
2 cor 5:21 says that Jesus became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus: therefore YOU ARE RIGHTEOUS!
james 5:16 says that the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much: therefore, YOUR PRAYERS AVAIL MUCH (avail - to be of use or value; profit; advantage; have force)
lie = i don't have enough money to pay my bills
truth = God richly supplies all of your financial needs
phil. 4:19 - and my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus
if you need some more examples, let me know...i could go on all day!
DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES OF THE ENEMY! he wants to steal from you; to kill you; and destroy you.
LISTEN AND RESPOND TO JESUS!!!!!!!!!!! HE came to give you life and life more abundantly!
psalm 103
just a little something for you to grab a hold of today:
bless the Lord, o my soul;
and all that is within me bless His holy name!
bless the Lord, o my soul,
and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
my commentary:
we should bless the Lord.
we should encourage ourselves to bless the Lord.
we should strengthen ourselves in the Lord.
why???
because of all His benefits -such as: the Holy Spirit, spouses, kids, homes, food, friends, etc...
because we are forgiven
we are healed
we are redeemed
we are crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies
our mouths are filled with good things and our youth is renewed like the eagle's!
CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY: OWN THE SCRIPTURES! make them your own, read them like a prayer. put them in the first person (i think that's what i mean...read/pray them like you're in it)
GOD IS GOOD. BELIEVE IT.
bless the Lord, o my soul;
and all that is within me bless His holy name!
bless the Lord, o my soul,
and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
my commentary:
we should bless the Lord.
we should encourage ourselves to bless the Lord.
we should strengthen ourselves in the Lord.
why???
because of all His benefits -such as: the Holy Spirit, spouses, kids, homes, food, friends, etc...
because we are forgiven
we are healed
we are redeemed
we are crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies
our mouths are filled with good things and our youth is renewed like the eagle's!
CHALLENGE FOR THE DAY: OWN THE SCRIPTURES! make them your own, read them like a prayer. put them in the first person (i think that's what i mean...read/pray them like you're in it)
GOD IS GOOD. BELIEVE IT.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
invitations to intimacy
isn't it cool how the Lord speaks to us? i've noticed it more lately than ever before (which has everything to do with softness of heart and very little to do with attentiveness of my ears) that the Lord often speaks about a theme for a season of time. for example, over the past season He has been teaching me about faith.
the picture He's given me is that of a loving parent teaching their little one how to walk. think about it, if you've got kids you've done it and if you don't have kids you've seen it done: mommy is helping baby to stand up while daddy sits just far enough away to allow for a step but close enough to help with the landing. both parents are encouraging little man to take that first step and i use the term "step" loosely. usually that first step entails moving one foot slightly in front of the other then falling into daddy's arms. as soon as that happens, everybody erupts! joy fills the room and the little person is showered with love. what usually happens next? let's try it again is almost always the response. as parents we always want our kids to take that next step whether it's actually walking or whether it's steps of maturity along the way. we want our kids growing and becoming who they were made to be.
how cool is to know that God wants the same for us? He wants us to mature in our relationship with Him and wherever we are on the journey He is always inviting us to take the next step of faith towards Him. oftentimes that first step may look a little like a baby's first step but God loves it when we step out in faith and He is pleased with our attempts.
i don't know in what area you need to take a step of faith. maybe it's faith for healing. maybe it's faith for provision. maybe it's faith to let go of control. like i said, i don't know the area but what i do know is that it's an invitation that He's extending to you. the thing that He's told me about these invitations is that they are actually invitations to intimacy. every time we accept the invitation on the table we get to know Him a little deeper. we actually move closer to Him and He is able to extend another invitation to us.
a line from one of my favorite songs right now says: You (Jesus) are a deep well...You will never be exhausted. we will never be able to know all there is to know but we've got a lifetime of invitations from Him to accept and every one of them is sweet.
good times.
the picture He's given me is that of a loving parent teaching their little one how to walk. think about it, if you've got kids you've done it and if you don't have kids you've seen it done: mommy is helping baby to stand up while daddy sits just far enough away to allow for a step but close enough to help with the landing. both parents are encouraging little man to take that first step and i use the term "step" loosely. usually that first step entails moving one foot slightly in front of the other then falling into daddy's arms. as soon as that happens, everybody erupts! joy fills the room and the little person is showered with love. what usually happens next? let's try it again is almost always the response. as parents we always want our kids to take that next step whether it's actually walking or whether it's steps of maturity along the way. we want our kids growing and becoming who they were made to be.
how cool is to know that God wants the same for us? He wants us to mature in our relationship with Him and wherever we are on the journey He is always inviting us to take the next step of faith towards Him. oftentimes that first step may look a little like a baby's first step but God loves it when we step out in faith and He is pleased with our attempts.
i don't know in what area you need to take a step of faith. maybe it's faith for healing. maybe it's faith for provision. maybe it's faith to let go of control. like i said, i don't know the area but what i do know is that it's an invitation that He's extending to you. the thing that He's told me about these invitations is that they are actually invitations to intimacy. every time we accept the invitation on the table we get to know Him a little deeper. we actually move closer to Him and He is able to extend another invitation to us.
a line from one of my favorite songs right now says: You (Jesus) are a deep well...You will never be exhausted. we will never be able to know all there is to know but we've got a lifetime of invitations from Him to accept and every one of them is sweet.
good times.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
uncomfortableness
have you ever noticed that Jesus made people uncomfortable alot? usually the people who were uncomfortable were operating in opposition to Him but even His friends were uncomfortable with Him some times. i love this quote: God loves to offend the mind to reveal the heart. He uses offense to show what spirit(s) we are partnering with. (ie. religious spirit/spirit of fear/etc...)
you see Jesus making people uncomfortable all through the gospels but one of my favorites is in john 6:41-59 where the jews are upset with Him because He said "I am the bread which came down from heaven". these guys start off upset with Him in verse 41 then Jesus goes on to reiterate His message in 48-51 saying that He is "living bread which came down from heaven. if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I give is My flesh..." interesting to point out that Jesus didn't soften the message. normally when people are uncomfortable we try to explain it in such a way as to lower the level of uncomfortability. Jesus didn't do this and those people who were uncomfortable, got even more uncomfortable. in verse 52 it says that they "quarreled among themselves saying, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" you have to remember these are guys who won't eat certain foods much less human flesh!
so after pressing on them a little bit Jesus backed off, right??? wrong. in verse 53 Jesus goes even further and tells them that not only do they have to eat His flesh but they have to drink His blood! this was so offensive that in verse 66 it says that many of His disciples turned away. Jesus moves from offending His enemies to now losing friends. but this does lead to one of the great answers of all time. when Jesus asks His remaining disciples if they want to leave as well, Peter says: "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life". WHAT AN ANSWER!
peter basically said: "Lord, even though You are making us incredibly uncomfortable and we don't understand what You're talking about, when You speak we come alive and since no one else can offer that, we're sticking with You."
start asking the Lord regularly what heart attitudes need to be revealed and changed.
He makes all things new. what a great promise.
peace.
you see Jesus making people uncomfortable all through the gospels but one of my favorites is in john 6:41-59 where the jews are upset with Him because He said "I am the bread which came down from heaven". these guys start off upset with Him in verse 41 then Jesus goes on to reiterate His message in 48-51 saying that He is "living bread which came down from heaven. if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I give is My flesh..." interesting to point out that Jesus didn't soften the message. normally when people are uncomfortable we try to explain it in such a way as to lower the level of uncomfortability. Jesus didn't do this and those people who were uncomfortable, got even more uncomfortable. in verse 52 it says that they "quarreled among themselves saying, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" you have to remember these are guys who won't eat certain foods much less human flesh!
so after pressing on them a little bit Jesus backed off, right??? wrong. in verse 53 Jesus goes even further and tells them that not only do they have to eat His flesh but they have to drink His blood! this was so offensive that in verse 66 it says that many of His disciples turned away. Jesus moves from offending His enemies to now losing friends. but this does lead to one of the great answers of all time. when Jesus asks His remaining disciples if they want to leave as well, Peter says: "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life". WHAT AN ANSWER!
peter basically said: "Lord, even though You are making us incredibly uncomfortable and we don't understand what You're talking about, when You speak we come alive and since no one else can offer that, we're sticking with You."
start asking the Lord regularly what heart attitudes need to be revealed and changed.
He makes all things new. what a great promise.
peace.
Monday, September 21, 2009
first time getting my blog on
welcome to my blog. GOD IS SO GOOD! He has been blowing up at the Billingsley household for a while now but He came with a little more intensity this last weekend. Totally fun! More fun to tell that one in person than via the blog so you'll have to grab lunch with me or come by the house. Why the blog? I'm attempting to lived fully filled with the Spirit all the time and this is my place to journal it. I'm journaling it here because I can't read my writing when I journal on paper and I hope it will encourage anyone who visits. I know it's kind of an old pic up top but there's something sweet about Beau's adventurous spirit. Kind of like the Lord wants us to have a similar spirit as we run after Him.
Why should we try to live fully filled? Jesus did. Jesus was 100% human and yet 100% filled and submitted to the Spirit of God within Him. Because of that fully filled nature, the God of the universe said "I am well pleased with Him"; He performed more miracles than could be written down; and, He literally changed history and made it His-story. Pretty good reasons, huh?
A couple of things on my mind. Again, GOD IS SO GOOD! If you ever wondered whether or not that is true, ask Him to reveal Himself to you and you won't ever wonder again. He wants to reveal Himself to us. He wants to show us individually who He really is and what He really is all about. I'm sure you're aware but even if you're not, He tells us that He wants to reveal Himself to us. In John 14:21 Jesus says: He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest (or reveal) Myself to Him.
Jesus has been showing Himself to me as THE Redeemer. I was struck this morning by that fact. If you think about the Bible and story of humanity, the whole thing is the story of redemption. A bad choice was made in the garden and God put the redemption plan into place. He wasn't surprised by that bad choice anymore than He is surprised when we make bad choices. And here's the cool thing, Romans 8:28-29 says that He works all things to the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. So if that's true (and it is completely) then we know that no matter what has happened or will happen He will work it for our good! He didn't want/cause Adam & Eve to make the choice they did in the garden anymore than He wants or causes us to make poor choices now but He takes the choices we make or have made and He will redeem them. Here's the exact dictionary definition of redeem: to buy or pay off; clear by payment. Like paying off a mortgage He literally "cleared by payment" our choices.
There is so much freedom in knowing that He is the Redeemer! The freedom is two fold: 1) when we confess our sins "He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" so we don't have to carry the regret/condemnation/guilt/etc...; and 2) since He redeems those poor choices we can have confidence that He will literally take what the enemy intended to destroy us and turn it for our benefit.
GOD IS GOOD. HE'S FOR YOU AND NOT AGAINST YOU. HE'S GOT PLANS TO PROSPER AND NOT TO HARM YOU. HE'S NOT MAD AT YOU FOR PAST DECISIONS (once they've been forgiven, He doesn't even remember them!)
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