Tag: Freedom

Why Soul Healing?

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Beloved I pray you would prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers,~3 John 1:2.

Sweet friends you are deeply loved by God. So loved. I wanted to take a week off of the spiritual house series to talk about why I started this series. 

I too have been on this journey to wholeness. I couldn’t figure out why after forgiving people or situations that had happened in my life there was still deep sadness within. My spirit was beaming over with joy, yet my soul was sick. This sickness in my soul was leading me to eat the wrong foods, make decisions out of hurt/pain, and limit my freedom in Christ. 

The blood of Jesus was applied to my sins. My spirit sealed in Christ, yet I was walking around with deep wounds in my soul. Wounds of rejection, trauma, offense (though I’d forgiven people), and more. The power of God needed applied to my soul, the wounds in my soul. 

I’m pro Christian counseling. I’ve never done it, but have peer counseled. I’m extremely pro get with God and let Him touch every place that’s been wounded. God can do in an instant what others need a lifetime for…

I also through peer counseling, mentoring, praying for the sick and demonized realized the soul (mind, will, emotions) plays a huge role in freedom/lasting freedom. Hence there would be people who’d get free of an addiction and fall right back into it because their soul was sick. We’d evict evil spirits, they’d be filled with Holy Spirit, and end up right back in a hot mess. Why? The root issue was never dealt with in that person’s soul. Evil spirits love wounds. God loves to heal wounds. 

I also recall a lady who was deaf that we prayed for who was not getting any breakthrough until we started addressing unforgiveness, bitterness, etc in her soul. If the soul is sick, it impacts the body. 

The goal is hopefully to encourage you there is freedom, wholeness, and healing in Jesus. He paid for complete freedom. There’s no condemnation or shame to be had if the soul is sick. There’s a “God loves me so much He wants me healed and whole.” There’s forgiveness for sins and power in His name to heal! 

I’ve been in bondage to fear, and other things in my life and I can say with firm confidence I prefer freedom! Freedom in my soul! Yes God! He who the Son sets free is free indeed…thank You Jesus!

Father (Abba), bless everyone who visits this site or receives emails. Overwhelm them with Your love, peace, power, goodness, and the healing of Jesus. I speak wholeness of soul over each one of us. Soul be healed in Jesus name. More of You Lord. May our souls be excellent and free of wounds. Shine Your love and Light into every place. Do what only You can do. In the powerful name of Jesus, amen.

Love to you! ♥️ Lifting you up…

Love, 

Erin 

Closing Open Doors (The Spiritual House Series Part III)

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If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house,~Jesus (Mark 3:24-27).

Hello sweet friends. I hope you’ve been enjoying this series on the spiritual house. I started it because I’ve seen the good fruit of inner healing. I’ve also peer counseled several over the years who had issues of the soul, sins they couldn’t seem to break free from, and though their spirit was free and in Christ, their soul was sick and afflicted. 

The Bible says, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers,”~1 John 1:2. Our physical sickness can be the result of our soul sickness. When our soul is sick it causes relational problems, mental problems, and financial problems. I want to be healthy and whole. How about you? 

So, let’s talk more about open doors. How does our soul get sick? Last post I talked to you about lies. How believing lies opens the door for the evil one to gain access to our lives. Once we start believing lies, we begin acting on them because as a man thinketh, so is he (Proverbs 23:7). The body will go where the mind has been. 

Today I will touch on some of the other open doors. You ready for some house cleaning? 

Open doors list: 

  • Unforgiveness/Offense
  • Trauma/Abuse
  • Neglect/Abandonment
  • Gross Sin/Sexual Sin
  • Unbelief
  • Choices of Entertainment
  • Occult Involvement 
  • Generational Sin (Your Ancestors Opened the Door) 

I don’t have the space to touch on each one of these in detail. It’d be pages of information. I will once again share resources at the end so you can learn more. 

Door number 1: Unforgiveness and Offense. 

The Bible is very clear that if we don’t forgive others, we are not forgiven (Matthew 6:15). Jesus never gave us a pass on this one. We must forgive. What does not mean? It means we refuse retaliation or revenge. We surrender the offender to God. We pray for them. We cease carrying heavy stones in our pockets to assault the offender. Is it denying their bad behavior, no? Does forgiveness mean you have to be best friends, no? Does forgiveness equal reconciliation, no? Reconciliation is restoring the relationship. This is not always possible. 

Forgiveness is saying, “I refuse to hold on to what you have done. I lay it at the feet of Jesus. He paid for all sin, yours and mine. He will repay according to His perfect love, mercy, and judgment.” God has a far better way of dealing with people than we can imagine. He’s just! He’s fair. He’s good. 

So let’s close some doors in our lives! 

Prayer: 

Holy Spirit, search our hearts. Please reveal anyone or the people we are holding grudges against. Please reveal anyone or people we are harboring offense against (pause and listen). 

Father right now I choose as an act of my will to forgive ______________(insert name), for their sin of __________(insert offense). I ask God you would forgive them as You’ve forgiven me. I ask the sins of unforgiveness and offense would be washed from my heart and soul in Your Son’s cleansing blood. I shut the door to unforgiveness and offense in my life. I freely receive Your forgiveness and freely give it away. 

Holy Spirit release Your dunamis power into every wound created in my soul by these events and being sinned against. Heal my soul of all wounding caused by sin. Flood my soul with Your incredible resurrection power. Heal every place that was hurt or wounded. In Jesus powerful name, amen. 

You may need to forgive yourself or God. Some are angry with God. He is sinless, yet if we are holding a grudge against Him, we need to surrender it to Him. 

Door 2 and 3: Trauma, Abuse, Neglect, and Abandonment

We were created by God to be accepted, unconditionally loved, cherished, protected, adored, and cared for. We were created to feel safe. The original design was a mother (woman) and father (man) would bring up children in an atmosphere of God’s incredible, unconditional love. There was no trauma, abuse, neglect, or abandonment in the Garden prior to the fall. These doors open us up to spirits of rejection, the orphan spirit, self hatred, insecurity, fear, fear of man, rebellion, control, and more.

I unfortunately have tons of experience with these two doors. I wish I didn’t, but I do because of the sinful choices of my ancestors and family members. Rejection and fear were spirits I battled for a long time. I still have things I must take to God so He can do an even deeper work. I won’t elaborate here, maybe later in a testimony post. 

Prayer: 

Father I thank You for the cleansing power of Your Son’s blood shed on the cross. I forgive every person who has traumatized me, abandoned me, rejected me, hurt or abused me, or caused great harm by withholding love, affection, or acceptance. I release them and each situation to You. I ask right now Your Holy Spirit would go back in time to every entry point of wounding and open doors to my soul. I plead the blood of Jesus on those moments. Cleanse me of all wounding and I ask for Your resurrection power to fill my soul. I ask for complete healing of my mind, emotions, memories, and body from trauma, abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Fill me to overflowing with Your perfect love! Bathe every memory in Your love and purging fire. Consume any dross in me as a result of being afflicted. Give me a deeper understanding of Your unfailing love! Fill me to overflowing. Break off anything in me that would attract me to people who would abuse, neglect, reject, hurt, or abandon me. Send those filled to overflowing with Your amazing love! 

Eviction notice prayer for those in Christ:

Any spirit that attached itself to me due to these open doors I command them to leave and go to a dry uninhabited place never to return. Holy Spirit flood every place with Your love and light. In Jesus powerful name, amen. 

I ask for a release over each of you the peace of God, spirit of adoption, and increased awareness/reception of the love of God. You are loved, cherished, adopted in God’s family (if in Christ), wanted, fully accepted based on what Jesus did, free of being an orphan or outcast, and given a new identity in Christ! 

Door 4: Gross Sin/Sexual Sin 

The Bible is very clear that sexual sin impacts us differently than other sins. Why? Because it’s sin against the body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. And sex was intended to join us (glue us) to another person physically, spiritually, and in our soul. It’s stronger than super glue. Have you ever super glued two things together and then wanted them apart? I have. You notice there’s a ripping or tearing when you get them apart. There’s residue on one and brokenness on the other. It’s scientifically proven that our brains do not know the difference between actual lawful sexual intercourse which releases hormones in the brain and all other activities that release those hormones. 

God designed sex and sexual release so humans would be drawn back to each other over and over. Hence the body’s craving for stimulation once activated. So no matter the source, it leads to bondage or addiction if not placed in its proper place within marriage (man and woman). Check out Moral Revolution for more information on sex and sexuality. 

We are also told not to keep on sinning (on purpose) once saved. Gross sin is: you know something is wrong and just keep on doing it without any repentance. Does this mean we strive for perfection? Ummm…no! We abide in Christ and confess our sins to Him. We rely on His empowerment, the indwelling and powerful Holy Spirit. Our spirit is saved if we are in Christ. We can still choose to sin which opens the door for the evil one to get a foothold or eventually a stronghold in our lives. 

Prayer: 

Holy Spirit search my heart. Please reveal any unconfessed sins so that I might repent of them (listen). 

Father please forgive me for ________(insert infractions). I’m sorry for choosing my way above Yours. I receive Your forgiveness. Help me to say yes to Your will. Father any place I’ve surrendered my purity for sex outside of marriage (man and woman) or engaged in immoral sexual activity I ask for Your forgiveness. I ask for the power of Your Holy Spirit to restore my hormone balance so I am not addicted or in any bondage. Any part of me that’s attached to another, I ask that it be returned to me washed in Your Son’s cleansing blood. Any part of another person that’s attached to me through immoral activity I ask that it be returned to them washed in Your Son’s cleansing blood. The spiritual super glue that bonded us together in unhealthy ways to receive the breaking power of Your anointing. I ask for wholeness in my soul. Holy Spirit heal my soul from all the wounds inflicted through gross sin and sexual sin. I want to be whole and walk in purity. Holy Spirit release Your dunamis power into every wound in my soul. In Jesus powerful name, amen. 

Eviction notice prayer for those in Christ:

Any spirit that attached itself to me due to these open doors I command them to leave and go to a dry uninhabited place never to return. Holy Spirit flood every place with Your love, purity, and light. In Jesus powerful name, amen. 

I ask for a release over each of you the purity of God, self control, comfort, and cleansing of the mind. 

Next time I will cover the other open doors. You are loved sweet friends! Let’s continue on this journey to wholeness in Christ. 

Resources: 

The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson
Soul Decrees by Katie Souza
Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare Manual by John Eckhardt
The Naked Truth about Sexuality by Havilah Cunnington 

Father thank You that You’ve given us everything we need to be free: sin cleared by Your Son’s blood and healing in the power of Your Spirit. We want to be whole; mind, body, soul, spirit. Do a deep work within so our souls look like Jesus. Heal every wound. Thank You Papa. May we receive fully all You have paid for. In Jesus powerful name, amen. 

Love in Christ, 

Erin 

Open Doors-Starts with a Lie (The Spiritual House Series Part II) 

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Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers,~3 John 2:2. 

Hello beautiful friends. I hope this series draws us both closer to God and many find tremendous healing. Last post was far longer, so this one may be split so it’s not quite as long. 😊

Today I will be talking to you about open doors. I’ll start with a story from my childhood that may help with understanding. 

When I was around 13 I had this neighborhood friend, let’s call her Lucy. Lucy was adventurous, free, and didn’t truly understand the purpose of rules. 

I’m an artist. I love to paint. I was working on a lighthouse mural on canvas in our basement. It was larger than life and my friend Lucy was eager to see it! She was overflowing with excitement. I became sick with the chicken pox right before the big reveal. Lucy stopped by and she was stopped by my mum at the door. 

“Erin is sick, you will have to come back another time,” my mum said. 

“I really want to see the painting, can’t I just come in for a minute?” Lucy exclaimed. 

“No, I would like for you to come back another time,” my mum politely responded. 

I could see over the stairs their dialogue back and forth. As Lucy became more insistent, the level of irritation in my mum increased. Eventually Lucy saw the door was open enough for her to squeeze in. She bolted into the house and down the steps to see the painting. In a whirlwind she had gained entry. Through that open door we had an intruder. She seemed nice at first, yet she came with a mission, to gain entrance into our house. 

My mum in a sense of outrage chased her down the steps, then escorting her out the door. The next thing I knew Lucy was getting a lesson on boundaries, respecting adults, and well that friend never came back to play. 

Why did I tell you this story? Good question. There are many things in this story that relate to our souls (mind, will, emotions) and spiritual house. The house is you or me. The inhabitants if you’re saved (in Christ) are you and Jesus. The intruder (Lucy in the story) represents the lies, footholds, strongholds, demonic spirits that can enter into our lives through open doors. We (you and I) or our ancestors opened the door to oppression, sickness, death, etc…through sin. It started with Adam. We can also open doors by believing lies, gross sin etc…

My story isn’t perfect in the sense Jesus never opens the door to sin or the demonic in our lives. You and I do that or our ancestors did that. He does cast them out. Yet wanted to give you a visual of opening doors. 

So, you can be walking along, Spirit filled, and still have a room in your soul marked fear, lust, prejudice, insecurity, anger, pride, or addiction… In these rooms are thoughts, ideas, images, memories, behavior patterns. All rooms God wants to clean out…lust becoming a room of love and purity, anger becoming patience and long suffering, pride becoming humility, insecurity becoming security in Christ, sexuality refined by God’s original design. Some rooms as stated in last post are swept clean at conversion. Some are not. Why? 

Everything in the Kingdom of God works by faith and before salvation we are completely under the influence of lies. 

Believing lies open doors to give the devil a foothold. What is a foothold. It’s a crack in the door. Think of Lucy. She knocked on the door and my mum thought she was checking on me. She wasn’t. My mum believed something that wasn’t true. A crack in the door can lead to further problems.  

Continuing to believe lies leads to strongholds. These are fortresses of lies. Lucy persisted in trying to bargain with my mum. She wanted entrance inside. Lucy only wanted to see my painting. The evil one wants to take up residence; to kill, steal, and destroy. So once the lie is believed he seeks to link other lies to it. The goal is to ensnare you and I into sin; gross sin leads to demonic oppression. 

Follow this trail. Stories from ministry. 

Jane (name changed for privacy) starts to feel neglected by her husband. The lie sown, “Your husband is boring and there’s far more excitement out there.” Jane believes this lie and starts flirting back with her coworker who is also married yet not a Christian. The lies keep building. “Your coworker is excited to see you. He appreciates you. You’ll have a far better life with him.” Well Jane stayed on this journey until she ended up sleeping with the guy at work. He left his wife. She did not leave her husband. The aftermath was two families hurt, damaged, and wounded. Jane’s reputation ran through the mud. Tons of inner healing for Jane and her husband. The guy had to process the hurt of not getting what he wanted and mend things with his ex wife. It was a mess that started with a lie. 

There’s Max (name changed) who was lured into pornography. Lies: “It’s exciting. This will spice up your love life. This is far better than being with your wife. You’re a guy, boys will be boys-you need release right? There’s no harm done. It’s just fantasy.” Max becomes addicted to pornography, loses his spot on the worship team and in ministry. He struggles to get free and get images out of his head. His wife is devastated. She thinks, “Why wasn’t I good enough for him? Why did he lie to me?” They both go through tremendous hurt, shame, pain, inner healing, and deliverance. Pornography is an evil spirit. There’s an evil spirit behind it. 

There’s Julie who experienced turmoil and father issues. She hears the lie: “You were born the wrong sex. You should’ve been a boy.” These lies go against Psalm 139. God formed us and chose our gender. Julie begins to believe these lies and act on them. This leads to her living many years as a man. Julie eventually has an encounter with Jesus. This lifestyle brought great pain and anguish into her life. She developed cervical cancer and God healed her. She has a radical testimony of being spiritually, emotionally, and physically healed. She’s now living as a woman and has given up sexual relationships with women. She had to walk through deliverance from evil spirits because gross sin leads to demonic oppression. She still, though saved and set free, battles at times shame. 

The devil never tells people the consequences of listening to him. He just says, “Do what feels good.” That’s what he did to Eve. We see how that story ended. Yet there’s hope in Jesus. There’s power in His name to break every single chain.

There are people who say your soul is not influenced by evil once saved. This is not true. You still can choose to partner with lies or engage in sinful activity that opens up your soul to torment. That’s why scripture says…

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled,~2 Corinthians 10:3-6.

You may have lies that don’t seem as big as those that lead to adultery or sexual sin. Those lies may be…

You’re worthless; I’m worthless 

No one loves me

God will not protect me 

This is hopeless

I have no reason to live 

God hates me 

God doesn’t love me

God loves others more than me 

I need to earn God’s love or approval 

I need man’s approval 

I’m a failure 

Everyone’s against me 

I can’t do what God called me to do 

I’m never going to be free 

I’m not important to God

God is blessing everyone but me

Other people are beneath me (leads to prejudice, sexism, racism)…

It’s okay to engage in this sin

I was born this way so I must stay this way

God is not all powerful 

I ask Holy Spirit to reveal any lies I am believing and renounce them. I want those doors shut so the enemy can not build fortresses (strongholds of lies). It’s a process and journey of renouncing lies and getting truth into our minds. Renewing the mind. It’s the daily battle. For it is not the truth that ultimately sets us free. It’s believing the truth that sets us free. 

If you struggle with lies and thoughts, I highly recommend Beth Moore’s Book Praying God’s Word (Purchase Praying God’s Word), Decree by Patricia King (Purchase Decree) Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer (Purchase Battlefield of the Mind). Also recommend Beth Moore’s DVD/CD teaching Breaking Free (Purchase Breaking Free). 

Next post we will talk more about open doors. There’s…

  • Unforgiveness 
  • Trauma/Abuse
  • Neglect/Abandonment
  • Gross Sin/Sexual Sin
  • Unbelief
  • Choices of Entertainment
  • Occult involvement 
  • Generational Sin (Your Ancestors Opened the Door) 

I love you friends. ❤️ Praying for you! May you and I be completely free in Christ. I’m on this journey with you! Jesus is mighty to save, heal, and deliver! 

Love, 

Erin 

  

Learning to Love Like God (Part 1)

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If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much,~Matthew 5:46.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”~John 13:34-35.

We love because he first loved us,~1 John 4:19.

Love is the highest calling for a believer. I talk about love quite a bit because God reveals the desperate need the world has for love. Addiction is a cry for comfort. Sexual promiscuity for attention and affection. Abuse for healing. Everywhere you look, people are trying to fill a God sized void with something. Drugs, food, tv, alcohol, sex, relationships, social media, and even church activities are often used to fill the void of love.

You and I are empowered to love. How? By the Holy Spirit. He is love. Sounds easy right? God in us loving people.

In order to love like God, we must first receive love from God. We cannot give away what we do not possess. That person who fails to love you mostly likely either doesn’t know how you perceive love, or they haven’t fully received God’s love.

Even after we receive God’s love, we can choose not to love other people. It’s a process of submitting to God, not relying on feelings, and dying to self.

I don’t always feel like loving people. Nope. Some days I grow tired of being kind to rude people. Some days I have to go straight to God with unpleasant feelings towards people. He reminds me of this, “Feelings are not an indication of truth. You can love this person because I love them.”

How do we love like God?

We let God love us. Christianity is about relationship with God. Jesus paid for us to have full access to the Father.

Take time to just be with God. It can be journaling, reading, praying & listening, time in His Word, worship, etc…asking God to reveal His love on the heart level. It will then pour out on to others. God fills to overflowing. Part of it is faith as well; believing what God says about His love for us is true.

We forgive. Gosh, I don’t mind forgiving (surrendering a person to God and refusing to avenge). It’s far more difficult to reconcile and restore a relationship when someone has betrayed your trust, treated your heart like a punching bag, or just failed to be good to you. In those moments I’m reminded of these things…

1. What is God’s purpose for the relationship? Is it covenant? Will restoring the relationship be safe?

If someone is stealing from your bank account, love sets boundaries (change the info, block the person). If a person is not trustworthy, don’t confide in them. If someone is controlling and manipulative, limit the access they have to you. If someone is abusing you in any way, seek help. Forgiving does not mean you must remain in the same condition or immediately give someone your trust. We are responsible for who and what we allow into our lives.

If it’s a covenant relationship or one God is calling us to, we are to do our best to work it out (we will discuss more in a different post on covenant).

2. How does God treat me when I fail?

We are humans. We will blow it. God is so merciful and kind to me when I mess up. I am called to be merciful.

Unlike God, we can be severely damaged by others. Mercy doesn’t mean let someone continually, purposefully hurt or abuse you. Our role is to point people to Christ. It’s unloving to allow someone to continue to sin against us and not offer loving correction. We want people right with God. It does mean we offer grace, compassion, and mercy. Mercy may be refraining from gossip (which is so damaging). The person did you wrong, protect their name. Treat them better than they did you.

Lastly I will say love will cost you greatly. God has blessed me with years of experience loving people who did not in any way love, honor, or respect me. He gave me someone similar to Saul (4 years-40 hours a week. Not sure how I didn’t lose my mind), a few who behaved like Judas, and allowed people in my life who at times made me want to never love again. I’ve had to love people who have tried to take my life. I can say love doesn’t always feel good. I’m certain the experiences Jesus endured were not pleasant. They were excruciating. He suffered greatly. Yet, He did it for love.

Whatever love costs you, please know genuine love glorifies God. The world needs to see genuine, agape love through us. We may not know until heaven the impact we made in someone’s life. Though it may be painful at times, choose love!

You’re in my thoughts and prayers!

Father reduce us to love. Help us to love like You. Remove worldly views of love and replace them with Yours. Help us to see people as You do, and love them as You do. In Jesus name, Amen.

Love in Christ,

Erin

Silenced Screams (A Response to Human Trafficking and Abuse)

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“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19.

Silenced Screams

Written by Erin Lamb

December 12, 2010

I hear the echoes of your silenced

screams piercing through my mind.

Screams from the forgotten,

abused, and misused.

Compassion overflows

for hearts and bodies tattered, worn,

wounds left open, and exposed.

The cries of your heart,

that you feel no one else seems

to hear,

reach high into the heavens.

God sees and understands.

The tears that flow like waterfalls,

that you think no one seems to see,

God sees them.

He hears them.

I must respond on bended knee.

On bended knee before my Father

there is a plea for your Deliverer to

come;

knowing only He can move the vast

mountains of oppression,

that have remained for way too long.

It is here,

I feel the earth shake,

in an outcry,

for justice,

for your freedom,

to live a life free of being someone’s

slave.

I see a light,

pierce through the darkness,

illuminating your tear stained face.

Your face is not forgotten,

God knows your name.

You are the King’s treasure,

and He longs to give you His very best.

You are not someone to be overlooked,

neglected,

ignored,

or clothed in shame.

You are a precious one,

one that God adores.

God hears the wailing of your heart,

and He is calling for the world to

respond.

We do not lose hope for justice,

for our help comes from above.

He is breaking our hearts,

with the pain that breaks yours.

No longer are your screams to be

silenced,

or your suffering ignored.

We cannot live your nightmares

or even heal your wounds,

but we can keep shouting from the

rooftops for deliverance to come.

We can fight for your freedom.

Your freedom is my passion,

for the world to see your plight.

Prayers will surround you,

until all the injustices are made right.

More than prayer,

there is rallying for you!

We cannot do everything,

but we can do something.

It starts here,

with the world hearing your silenced

screams.

There are so many hurting people in the world. So many children and women, who are being abused, or held against their will. My heart aches for every hurting person in the world. While I cannot carry each person’s individual burden, I can pray for the oppressed. I cannot forget those held captive and so my knee bends to pray. So please join me in praying for our friends held captive around the world. God loves them as much as He loves us.

Check our these great organizations who are fighting for freedom.

A21 Campaign: http://www.thea21campaign.org/

20 ways you can fight human trafficking:
http://www.state.gov/j/tip/id/help/

Not for Sale:

Homepage

Fight for Freedom:
http://www.thedailymuse.com/education/the-fight-for-freedom-7-organizations-combating-human-trafficking/

National Domestic Abuse Hotline:
1−800−799−SAFE(7233) or TTY 1−800−787−3224.

A Greater Yes

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Last post I wrote about when God says no. It’s easy with Christianity to focus on what God says no to instead of what He says yes to. If we entered into a relationship with God only to be given a list of rules, it would not be a blessing. So, today I want to talk about the blessings that come from being with God.

Redemption in Christ

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him, Ephesians 1:3-10.

The Blessings of God

Forgiveness. God gives us forgiveness of sins. All of our sins have been paid for on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty for all sin. Why is this a blessing? It’s a blessing because the wages of sin is death. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, Romans 6:23. If we are not forgiven, we are not saved from eternal separation from God. We cannot save ourselves. We need God and His forgiveness.

God is not like us. We forgive and cannot forget. God removes the stains of sin forever. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us, Psalm 103:12. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more, Isaiah 43:25. God gives us a clean slate. Not only does God forgive us our sins, He gives us freedom from being slaves to sin. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness, Romans 6:18.

Relationship. God is after a relationship, not our rule keeping. He invites us to have a fruitful and blessed relationship with Him. Jesus paid the price so we could have full access to God.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me, John 14:6.

In Him (Jesus) and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence, Ephesians 3:12.

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me, John 15:4.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need, Hebrews 4:16.

This relationship comes with so many benefits. God is our Provider, Advocate, Helper, Healer, Wise Counsel, Wisdom, Redeemer, Friend, and so much more. We have the opportunity to have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.  Also all the things He asks us to do, He gives us His Holy Spirit to enable us to do those things. He only asks us to do things that will lead to blessing. He invites us to know Him. He is the greatest reward. We don’t have to go through a bunch of rituals to get to Him. We can go boldly to Him with confidence.

Eternal Life: God offers us life eternal in paradise. This life is just a blip on the screen of life. Eternity is so big and vast beyond measure. Our minds cannot fully fathom what awaits. Heaven awaits. There will be no sickness, death, evil, fatigue, pain, suffering, poverty, no bad news, and we will reign with Christ forever and ever. For God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life, John 3:16.

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54

The only alternative is life apart from God in eternal damnation. God invites every person to bypass hell which was created for the devil and the angels who rebelled with him. He says, “Come to Me and find life.”

Spiritual gifts: God gives us His Spirit and the Holy Spirit has numerous roles in our lives. He is at work to transform us into the image of Jesus. He also is at work so that we can operate in the gifts of the Spirit and have the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other, Galatians 5:22-26.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

This post does not even begin to capture all the benefits of saying yes to God and His will. He withholds nothing good from us. The world has many things to offer, but saying yes to anything outside of God’s will leads to bondage and death. God is good. Everything He does is good! If He says no it’s because He has a greater yes.

Bless you friends. You’re in my thoughts and prayers, Love Erin.

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